Tagged: final

The final no one saw coming: it’s Serbia v Brazil

Neither semi final was particularly close but the winners won’t care.  Serbia closed out Poland for a ten-minute spell in the first half during which they pulled out to a five-goal lead that they only ever looked like adding to; Brazil led by 4 at the break and then scored the first two of the second-half which, combined with a superb goalkeeping performance, saw them control the game and move into the final.

So, there you have it.  Two teams who have never contested a final before.  When they met in the group stages Brazil won but the final will be a different matter.  Firstly, they have picked up a few injuries along the way since then but more importantly the crowd will almost certainly be a 20,000 sell out and there won’t be many Brazilians there (although those that are will be colourful!).  By most measures you’d say Brazil were the better team but it is a final that could really go either way.

The scores and upcoming fixtures therefore are:

Semi Finals
Poland 18:24 Serbia
Brazil: 27:21 Denmark

3/4 Play Off
Sunday 1.30pm (UK) Poland v Denmark

Final:
4.15pm Serbia v Brazil

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Hamburg win a handball Champions League final for the ages

So who had HSV Hamburg for the title then?  Not just when the Final 4 was drawn and it was clear they would have to beat the big beasts of THW Kiel and FC Barcelona but back in September when they only just edged the Wild Card tournament final (coming from behind to beat hosts Saint-Raphaël Var) and then pitched into a group that included Flensburg-Handewitt, Montpellier, Reale Ademar Leon and Chekhovskiye Medvedi.  But, despite all those obstacles, HSV have earned the right to be called European champions.

The Velux Final 4 had a bit of everything in the end.  It had the relatively easy semi-final that showcased the grit of the victors: Barcelona on the back of 8 from Rutenka always had the edge over the Poles of Vive Targi Kielce.  It had the semi-final with the result you didn’t see coming: Domagoj Duvnjak inspiring his Hamburg team-mates with 11 goals and Hamburg emerging victorious from a goal-fest.  The Zebras almost unable to work out what had gone wrong.  And then, in the third-place play off it had a confusion of names Kiel/Kielce (just me?) and the underdogs almost but not quite throwing away a 9 goal lead but hanging on – Kielce thus finished 3rd, Kiel 4th.  And the main drama still to come.

If Hamburg’s semi-final had been a goal-fest the first half of the final was a defence-fest and one that looked like going the way of the Catalans.  But with the first five minutes of the second half having more drama than the entire first  the game swung.  Twice Barcelona were pegged back only to take the lead again.  Across the court were contests – not least in the goal.  Sterbik in the Barcelona goal proved almost impossible to fire past whereas the athletic Bitter for Hamburg found his blocking limbs.  Heading into the final stages Hamburg somehow had a four goal lead with a fast break that could have made it five … but Jansen missed and within the blink of an eye (it seemed) we were all tied.  With the score at 25:24 Rutenka had a shot saved by Bitter but the rebound went straight back to him rather than the defence and making no mistake a second time we moved to extra time.

This was the first final to be decided in extra time and by now the crowd had discovered its German patriotism.  I doubt there was a neutral across Europe wanting any result other than a victory for Martin Schwalb’s men.  All were to get their wish but not before ten minutes of tension were played out.

As always seems to happen the scoring slowed.  Neither side wanting to allow the other to dictate the pace.  Hamburg caught a break when awarded a 7m penalty for a phantom foul and when Lindberg (the tournament’s top scorer) hit it to put HSV in front that was that.  Just the small matter of a Bitter save, a Barcelona steal, a shot over the top and a final attempt after time up to cram into the remaining 120 seconds.  Hamburg had earned the right to cling on.  Their joy was unconfined, Barcelona looked shell-shocked.

“So much drama …” said ehftv commentator Tom O’Brainnagain.  He was right.  This was a final that reminded you of the straightforward magnificence of sport in general and the brutal beauty of handball in particular.

Want to see it again?  Oh, go on …

Spain demolish Denmark to take the world title

I predicted a close one, I was wrong.  There aren’t many in Barcelona tonight who will care.

In the most one-sided final in the history of the competition, Spain were the winners in front of an ecstatic home crowd.  The most significant damage was done in the second quarter as a one-goal match turned into a 18:10 lead for Spain over the suprisingly underwhelming Danes.  Joan Canellas top-scored for the Spanish with 7 and he and his fellow attackers were backed up by a stingy defence and some excellent goalkeeping.

20,000 saw the match in the hall – no doubt a few million more across Spain saw it on TV.  It’s the biggest story on the El Pais site right now.  The boost that Spanish handball maybe needed.  The Danes may be sore but they can look forward to next year and being Euro 2014 hosts.

For now, though, the glory is all Spain’s.

 

World Championship Final – Preview and TV details

Arpad Sterbik – the Spanish goalkeeper who would presumably like to be smiling this broadly at full time

2013 World Championship Final
Spain v Denmark

4.15pm (UK), Sunday 27 January, Palau Saint Jordi

Live on Premier Sports (Sky Channel 428 – free) and on bet365.com live streaming

So, here we are then.  The European Champions against the hosts in a battle for the world title.  Spanish handball had so much riding on its first ever hosting of the World Championship.  Despite the strength of the top teams in the Asobal the rest of the league hasn’t had such an easy ride and there were fears that the public’s attention may be wandering …  Hopefully a sell out of 16,500 in Barcelona and a clear shot on a Sunday afternoon should go some way to reminding the good people of Spain of the great game they have in their midst.  And, hopefully as well, they will get to see a classic final regardless of who emerges triumphant.

Denmark came so close two years ago.  France defeated them in extra time.  But, since then, they’ve had experience in winning despite a passionate home crowd urging them to defeat – their taking of the Euro 2012 crown came against the hometown Serbs and their deafening support.  Perhaps significantly (though perhaps not) Denmark beat Spain in the semi finals in Serbia – and whilst their matches have always been close (the average difference is under 2 goals) it is Denmark who have won six of their last seven meetings.

None of those matches were in Spain in a home World Championship though.

Spain have clearly relished the crowd.  In their match against Serbia, for example, it seemed to be the extra man forcing opposition fumbles and propelling fastbreaks in response.  When they fell behind against Germany it’s hard to see how their momentum back into the game could have been maintained without the surging insanity of the home support.  Things might have been more straightforward against Slovenia but then the Slovenes can’t have enjoyed that every moment that something didn’t go their way the crowd reacted as if someone had given the title to Spain.  For all the Spain are a strong side without the added extra the home advantage brings it would be hard to predict a victory for them.

Spain have scored the second most goals in the tournament: 245 in 8 matches.  Want to guess which team beats them and has a significantly better scoring percentage in doing so?  In Albert Rocas and Victor Tomas, Spain have two great counter-attack shooters and 7m takers.  On the other hand, Denmark have Anders Eggert who has 23/24 from the penalty line.  Both teams move the ball nicely to the wing when needed but have a good variety of attacking options – but maybe Denmark have the upper hand in being able to call on Mikkel Hansen to impose himself when needed.  His tournament has been a bit underwhelming so far by his talismanic standards – Spain will hope it remains that way.

In defence, again, they are similar but you’d have to give Denmark the edge.  Spain have a save percentage of 34%; Denmark 37%.  The stat that could be significant in a match where turnovers and pounces on mistakes could be critical is that Denmark have done a much better job at preventing opposition fastbreaks turning into goals.  Against Croatia, as well, it was noticeable that Denmark were able to (fairly) physically impose themselves into a game to prevent attacks spreading; Spain failed that test against Croatia and it resulted in their only defeat in the tournament.  They’ve not faced a similar team since but Denmark will need to be stopped somehow.

So, there will be goals.  Lots of goals.  Spain will be hoping for more and more because if the game is high scoring it’ll mean the Danish defensive strengths aren’t working and we’ll be in a shooting match that either team could win.  A tighter or more controlled game – one that silences the crowd for stretches – and you’d have to back Denmark.

But, honestly, this could go either way.

What the bookies say: Too close to call for the end of 60 minutes result; Denmark marginal favourites overall
What Handball Views says: Denmark. Spain. Denmark. Spain.

World Championship Final – live on free TV in the UK

Bless the good people at Premier Sports.  The World Championship Final between Spain and Denmark will be live from 4.05pm (match starts 4.15pm) on Sunday 27 January on Sky Channel 428.  Free to anyone as well as they’re having a freeview weekend.

Huzzah!

But how did the 2011 World Handball Championship end, you ask? Well …

Obviously you can’t move in the British media for previews of the World Championship which starts in two day’s time (should you want one more though here’s ours)  … but for a bit of time tunnel fun here’s the final period of extra time from the 2011 final.

Don’t watch if you’re Danish.

It’s Montenegro’s title – Euro 2012 ends with a classic final

The shield of Montenegro

At some point this stopped being just a match between the two best teams in the tournament and became the kind of experience every sports fan dreams about.  This match had everything: it had double extra time and in each period of that there was a reffing controversy, it had a lead that changed hands, momentum that swung and, in the end, it had heroes.

Those heroes could be found throughout the Montenegro side.  From the goalkeeper Sonja Barjaktarovic who played the full eighty minutes and made 17 saves to Milena Knezevic who found the net 10 times, and then there was Katarina Bulatovic who was on court for over an hour and whose own performance summed up that of her team: bruised, defiant, victorious.

But on the losing side too, there were some great performances.  Anja Edin, again, was a focus for so much in defence and attack although she’ll be disappointed with only a 4/10 shooting return and Ida Alstad led with 11 goals, including three in the second half of the first period of extra time to overturn what had looked like an unassailable Norwegian lead.  But some players were muted, in particular, Linn Jorum Sulland could only manage three goals from eight shots.

At the final hooter, Heidi Loke remonstrated with the officials for her two minute suspension which had been the catalyst for Montenegro’s final, final charge for the title – but then Montenegro could counter that but for the very harsh two minutes given to Katarina Bulatovic in the first extra time there would have been no opportunity for Alstad’s equalising heroics.

Type ‘Montenegro’ into google news right now and all you see is women’s handball.  There is nothing else on the ticker.  Perhaps the place closes on Sunday.  What isn’t in doubt is how much this means to both the players on the court and the nation they represent.

And that’s before the impact on women’s handball that somebody, at last, has beaten Norway.

If you feel up to it, you can watch it all again here:

Euro 2012 final today. Anybody betting against Norway?

Kristine Lunde-Borgersen, on her way to a seventh major international title in six years? (wiki)

If it’s all getting a bit predictable it’s also getting a bit more impressive each time.  Norway will once again contest a major final as favourites and this time they do so having destroyed Hungary with one of the most dominant performances they will ever have produced against quality opposition. Midway through the first half of their semi final they overturned a 10:7 deficit with a 9:2 run of scoring and then utterly controlled the second half.  They could rotate the bench, showboat in attack and when Katrine Lunde Haraldsen took a whack in the face in the act of saving (one of 11 saves she made) they could relax in the knowledge that she could leave the court unworried.  Anja Edin was strong in both attack and defence and Heidi Loke looked like the world’s greatest player but, terrifyingly, neither of them looked head and shoulders above their colleagues, quality-wise.I’d backed Norway to win by 2.  They won by 11.

The other semi final, on the other hand, was a copper-bottomed classic as neighbours and former sharers of a sole identity Serbia and Montenegro did battle.  It was a tough match with plenty of bite, especially on the fringes of the D but it was also a game whose outcome was never certain until the end.

Serbia led 14:13 at the break and with a bit of luck and concentration would have had a greater advantage.  They had themselves come back from 9:5 down.  The bullets fired by Biljana Filipovic inspiring yet another great team performance.  Montenegro dug deep, played the refs to the limit and produced some smart shooting of their own – Milana Kzenevic finishing with 9 goals.  In the end the team with greater depth pulled away and just held on.

In today’s final the crowd won’t be an issue and but on head to head Norway look just too strong.  A Montenegro victory would be a beautiful result but they will need to work the refs effectively and shut down Norway in every aspect of the game – and do that for 60 minutes.  Norway can always go to Plan B, then C, D and E as required.  The bookies have Norway at 9/20 to win … but for all I think Norway should win if I were to place a bet I might be tempted to go for Montenegro.

My prediction, for what it’s worth, is Norway by 2.  The match starts at 3pm (UK) – live on YouTube with commentary from the always excellent Paul Bray.

Denmark are Women’s Youth World Champions

In a final that was refreshing for being competitive from start to finish and in which the result wasn’t clear until the end Denmark emerged victorious by edging out Russia 27:26.  The winning goal officially timed at 30:00 in the second half.

The Danes owned a 15:12 advantage at half time but were pegged back before Russia looked like the most likely to open up a decisive break.  The Russians led 22:20 at one point before Denmark levelled at 24:24 and a nervous series of attacks in the final ten minutes saw neither side able to assert themselves.

With thirty seconds left the scores were tied and Russia had the ball – but after a steady build-up their shot went wide and a ludicrous fast break from Denmark saw Freja Kyndbal somehow score whilst the Russian defence tried everything to stop her.  There was no time left for a response: cue celebrations for the team in red; despondency for the team in blue.  Anne mett Hansen was player of the match with 8 goals from 12 shots.

It’s the second title at this level for the Danes.  Norway take the bronze after a 36:30 win over Romania.  The hosts will be pretty disappointed to wind up finishing 11th.  And for the record the tournament’s top scorer was Aleksandrova Irina of Kazakhstan who powered in 62 goals.

If you want to relive any of the final, it’s here.