The first eight matches of the 2nd
IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship have been played in Gabrovo and Veliko
Tarnovo.
Group A opened with Turkey versus
Kosovo and right in the first match, the spectators in Veliko Tarnovo were kept
at the edge of their seats, as just like in the first half, Kosovo got stronger
by the end of the second half. After Turkey’s six-goal lead in the 50th minute,
Kosovo came back and levelled the score one minute before the final whistle. It
was Baran Nalbantoglu who netted the goal in the last minute and secured the
25:24 victory for Turkey. In the second
Group A match between Albania and Ireland, Ireland outclassed their opponents
in a high-scoring game. After a half-time score of 25:18, Ireland left no doubt
and won 50:33.
In Group B, Luxembourg opened
their campaign against Georgia. After 20 minutes into the game Luxembourg could
pull away and led by four at half-time (18:14). Even though Georgia could close
the gap to one goal, they could not keep up and lost by 29:35. The last match
of the day in Veliko Tarnovo was played between Malta and Great Britain, with Great
Britain winning 24:18 after a half-time score of 12:8.
In their first match, hosts
Bulgaria played against Cyprus in Group C in Gabrovo and it looked promising,
with a three-goal lead in the 37th minute. The spectators saw a nail-biting
game and the gap was quickly closed. It was only in the last three minutes that
Cyprus pulled away to win 25:22. In the second match in Group C, Andorra faced
Azerbaijan, who dominated the match. Leading 15:6 at half-time they did not
leave Andorra a chance and won 31:23.
In Group D, China opened against
defending champions Faroe Islands. At the half-time buzzer Faroe Islands were
already in the lead 15:7 and left no doubt that they can be counted among the
favourites again, winning 30:23. In the second Group D match Moldova
steamrolled Armenia 46:13 after a half-time score of 20:7.
Results – Day 1
Group A:
TUR-KOS 25:24
ALB-IRL 33:50
Group B:
LUX-GEO 35:29
MLT-GBR 18:24
Group C:
CYP-BUL 25:22
AND-AZE 23:31
Group D:
CHN-FAR 23:30
ARM-MDA 13:46