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Date: 7/14/2016
 

The second semi-final match saw Denmark finish with a win that continues their own unbeaten record at Russia 2016, and secures their place in the final alongside the home team. 

Germany and Romania left the court disappointed with losses that mean they will meet in the bronze-medal match played prior to the final. 

Sport Palace Dynamo Krylatskoe, Thursday 14 July
Semi-final: Germany vs Russian Federation 25:32 (12:19)

Russia were first to score on a counter attack from Antonina Skorobogatchenko inside the first two minutes, before Yaroslava Frolova did the same two minutes later to open up an early advantage at 2:0 for the hosts. After five minutes of play Russia led 3:0, before Ramona Ruthenbeck scored a penalty to give Germany their first goal. Frolova made feinting through the Germany 5-1 defence focused on Golikova look easy in the next attack, scoring her second goal before Germany answered (4:2). 

Again Frolova added a goal for Russia, and the home side retained a steady two to three-goal advantage until Golikova pulled them further in front to 7:3 with a ground shot from left back. At that point it already looked as though Russia were going to storm through the 60 minutes to finish with a comfortable win. Russia coach Anatolii Skorobogatov began to rotate through his squad early on, taking off Frolova, presumably to save her for later in the match in case the score was close in the final minutes. 

Germany goalkeeper Madita Kohorst made some saves that made Russia’s job a little more difficult, but with the crowd behind them Russia were looking very strong. By midway through the half Germany had decreased the deficit to three (6:9), before Frolova sent a strong ground shot into the goal that again opened up the four-goal advantage at 10:6. 

Germany coach Marielle Bohm swapped out keeper Kohorst to bring in Vanessa Fehr as Russia’s roll continued, but by the 20-minute mark the hosts had a 14:8 lead. Bohm tried to let her players find their own rhythm, but they could not slow Russia and she was forced to call her first time-out in the 18th minute when the home team were at a 13:7 advantage. Her side could only close the gap a little however, and with five minutes left in the half Russia were still in front by four.  

Fehr made a good save that kept the score at 10:16 at the 25-minute mark, and she followed with more that began to give Russia trouble. Where the host team’s backs had been finding the goal with spectacular shots previously, suddenly they found many of their attempts thwarted by Fehr. 

The score stayed where it was for several minutes until Elizaveta Malashenko scored a penalty to increase the lead to seven at 17:10. The distance remained at seven as Skorobogatchenko scored an incredible ground shot that put the score at 12:19 before the break. 

11 minutes into the second half Russia retained a five-goal advantage at 26:21, before Germany came back hard with impressive saves from Fehr to close the gap to three with 15 minutes left (24:27). A nerve-wracking five minutes for the hosts followed, and when Frolova received a two-minutes suspension it looked as though Russia could be in trouble as they led by just two. 

But goalkeeper Anastasiia Riabtseva stopped the resulting penalty, and she also saved the next two attacks as Russia maintained a three-goal advantage at 28:25. Skorobogatchenko added her fifth goal to pull Russia further in front to 29:25, and Bohm called her second time-out of the game. 

Riabtseva became a key part of Russia’s game in the last five minutes, saving another penalty in the 57th to keep the hosts in front by five at 30:25. The goalkeeper seemed to know exactly where Germany would shoot as she saved almost every shot, and by the final whistle she had helped keep her team well in front as her teammates did their job in attack. 

The home team finished the match with a seven-goal score line that continues their unbeaten run through the championship. They now await the result of the Denmark-Romania semi-final to learn who they will face in the ultimate match on July 15. 

Semi-final: Denmark vs Romania 28:25 (14:12)

From the first whistle both teams played excellent defence that caused trouble for their opponent, with Romania playing 5-1 that made Denmark work hard to find gaps while Denmark employed 6-0. Romania were more successful initially, with a neat pass from Cristina Laslo to line player Lorena Ostase putting the score at 2:1 in the 4th minute. The score stayed the same for several minutes until Denmark left wing Laerke Pedersen equalised in the sixth (2:2). 

From there it was a one-for-one match with Romania just in front until Pedersen scored her third goal to take the Scandinavian team ahead to 5:4. Denmark could not make the best use of their line player thanks to Romania’s excellent defence, and they lost several balls trying to feed in to Line Nielsen. 

With the score at 5:5 in the 15th minute Denmark earned a penalty, and they moved ahead by one to 6:5. Romania coach Ion Craciun called a time-out but the score remained at 6:5 for some minutes until the 17th, when Romania levelled again. 

The match progressed one-for-one with Denmark maintaining a steady advantage, always scoring first while Romania were left to equalise – which they did, keeping the score level until Denmark created a two-goal lead as the 20-minute mark approached (10:8). 

Now Romania were chasing a one to two-goal deficit, and with six minutes remaining in the half the Scandinavian team kept that distance with three goals each for Pedersen and left back Mie Hojlund at that stage. Romania scored a fast-break goal courtesy of Elena Dache as the last five minutes of the half approached to close the gap to one at 11:12, as Craciun changed his tactics to substitute defensive and attacking specialists. 

But as the clock ticked toward half-time Denmark again increased the difference to two at 14:12. Romania goalkeeper Yuliya Dumanska made an impressive save on a breakthrough to keep the Scandinavian team from moving further in front as the half-time whistle approached, but when the match resumed Denmark recorded a 5:1 run that swung the momentum firmly in their favour. 

By the 40-minute mark Denmark held an 18:13 advantage as goalkeeper Althea Rebecca Reinhart came on to make a penalty save against Laslo. At that point it seemed as though Denmark were looking strong for a win, but Romania came back as a two-minute suspension for Ronja Hjortshoej Johansen hurt the Scandinavian team. Romania decreased the score line to two at 16:18 with a long-range goal when Denmark had taken out their goalkeeper in favour of an additional attacker. 

With one quarter of the game remaining the difference remained at two (21:19), but five minutes later Denmark had increased their hold on the match and moved ahead to a four-goal advantage at 24:20. When goalkeeper Ida Vium made an impressive breakthrough save to keep the score at 23:27 with three minutes left, the outcome of the match was all but decided. Despite two late goals from Laslo, who was the top scorer of the match with a tally of eight, Denmark finished with a three-goal win that qualified them for the Russia 2016 final.

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