Hosts
Bosnia and Herzegovina took the 2018 IHF/EHF Women’s Trophy title thanks to an
eight-goal best player performance from Helena Curic in the final against
Belgium, in which they were behind by two goals at the break (14:12) but went
on to win 27:26.
Earlier
in the final, a strong first-half performance from the Belgians had put them in
full control after a tournament which had seen them win all their matches by
nine goals or more – including a 32:20 semi-final victory over Luxembourg. But
the hosts, buoyed on by a home crowd of over 1,000 spectators in the KSPC
Mejdan arena in the north-eastern city of Tuzl, mounted a fightback, resulting
in their narrow one-goal victory.
Belgium
had even gone up by three (17:14, 18:15) in the second period, but the home
side eventually brought it even at 19:19 and Belgium were rocking. Both teams
then exchanged goals, but the hosts went up by two (23:21) in the 50th minute
and were never caught again.
A
Bosnian team time-out with just over two minutes left on the clock and their
side 26:25 up calmed their nerves and, following the break, a well-drilled
attack saw Curic sink home from distance to make it two-clear again (27:25).
But their on-court celebrations following the strike may have been premature as
Lauranne Beckers brought Belgium within one (27:26) after a failed host attack.
However,
time was not on Beckers’ side and the hosts ran down the clock with their final
attack to take the title.
In
the bronze-medal match Luxembourg beat Estonia 22:21. Moldova finished fifth
with a dominant 41:24 win over Cyprus and Azerbaijan avoided last place with a
28:22 win over Great Britain in the 7/8 Placement Match.
Despite
their last-place finish, Great Britain’s joint coach Bill Baillie was happy for
his team to have a high-level international experience. “We are hugely proud of
our players,” said Baillie. “This was a steep learning curve for the team, with
many having no international experience whatsoever. However, they showed great
fighting spirit throughout the week.”
At
the other end of the rankings, Bosnia and Herzegovina coach Kornelija Rajkovic revealed
the title was the result of some hard preparation.
“We
would not have gathered [together as a team] if we did not mean to achieve a
serious result in this tournament,” said Rajkovic to local media. “I dedicate
this victory to all those disbelievers who have doubted us. Victory is not
going to us – because we knew we could – but to them.
“It
was not easy,” said the coach about the preparation for the tournament. “But we
have shown that we have quality, although [there is] a lot of room for
improvement.”
On
the final day the All-Star Team was also announced with Azerbaijan’s Kamila
Bayramova finishing top scorer (45 goals) and Belgium’s Estelle Ghijsens being
named Most Valuable Player.
The
final day of matches followed a rest day where an IHF/EHF Women’s Trophy
‘Coaches’ Clinic Programme’, overseen by EHF Lecturer Milan Petronijevic was
delivered.
All
match results, standings and scorers can be found HERE.
ALL-STAR TEAM
Goalkeeper:
Alena Huremovic (Luxembourg)
Left
Wing: Valeria Roscovan (Moldova)
Left
Back: Teele Utsal (Estonia)
Line
player: Lauranne Beckers (Belgium)
Right
Back: Selma Rein (Estonia)
Right Wing: Michelle Jung (Luxembourg)
Playmaker: Adelisa Dautovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Best Defensive Player: Isidora Krsic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Top
Scorer: Kamila Bayramova (Azerbaijan) - 45 goals
MVP:
Estelle Ghijsens (Belgium)
FINAL RANKING
1
Gold – Bosnia and Herzegovina
2
Silver – Belgium
3
Bronze – Luxembourg
4
Estonia
5
Moldova
6
Cyprus
7
Azerbaijan
8
Great Britain
RESULTS
Tuesday
29 May
EST
vs BEL 18:31
MDA
vs CYP 30:22
GBR
vs LUX 20:28
AZE
vs BIH 16:34
Wednesday
30 May
CYP
vs EST 14:34
BEL
vs MDA 37:28
LUX
vs AZE 27:27
BIH
vs GBR 34:20
Thursday
31 May
BEL
vs CYP 27:18
EST vs MDA 33:25
AZE vs GBR 28:29
BIH
vs LUX 39:14
Friday
1 June
Rest Day
Saturday
2 June
Placement
Round 5-8: MDA vs AZE 32:22 (18:9)
Placement
Round 5-8: GBR vs CYP 19:24 (10:11)
Semi-Final
1: BEL vs LUX 32:20 (16:10)
Semi-Final 2: BIH vs EST 30:24 (15:15)
Sunday
3 June
Placement
Match 7/8: AZE vs GBR 28:22 (14:10)
Placement
Match 5/6: MDA vs CYP 41:24 (23:15)
Bronze Medal: LUX vs EST 22:21 (12:10)
Final:
BEL vs BIH 26:27 (14:12)
Photos:
EHF