When Austria and Ukraine met in the preliminary round of the M18 EHF Championship 3 2022 in Romania, Ukraine recorded a 29:26Â win.
On Sunday, when the two teams met again in the final, Austria avenged the loss from the preliminary round with a convincing seven-goal triumph in Craiova, 30:23.
- with Dmytro Redkyn scoring six goals against Finland in the first half of the semi-final, Ukraine powered to a 19:13 half-time lead. Finland equalised at 32:32 in the 54th minute, but two late goals from Mykyta Ploshkin ensured that Ukraine qualified for the final with a 36:33 win
- although Romania led 23:19 in the 49th minute of the second semi-final, Austria fought back to earn a 26:26 draw in regular time. Elmar Böhm's winning goal in the ensuing penalty shoot-out sealed a 31:30 victory for Austria
- Romania bounced back from their penalty shoot-out loss in the semi-finals to beat Finland 36:33 in the bronze medal match. Romania were ahead 22:13 after 30 minutes, with Teodor Stefan scoring eight times in the first half, but Finland narrowed the gap in the second period
- in the final, Ukraine made a brighter start and led 8:5 after 12 minutes, but Austria turned the match around with a 6:0 run before half-time. Oleksandr Siryk (11 goals) led the scorers for Ukraine, while Nicolas Paulnsteiner scored seven times for AustriaÂ
- Slovakia claimed fifth place after beating Estonia 38:29 in the 5-6 placement match, while Moldova ended the championship in seventh place after defeating Great Britain 30:27 in the 7-8 placement match
Austria on top in RomaniaÂ
On Saturday evening, Austria had no margin to spare in the second semi-final against hosts Romania. But after winning a penalty shoot-out 5:4 to reach the final, Austria ensured that proceedings on Sunday evening were more straightforward.
While Oleksandr Siryk scored 11 times for Ukraine, only five of his teammates scored against Austria, who had nine players put their names on the scoresheet. Ukraine reduced the deficit to three goals in the 54th minute — but it only sparked a final flourish for Austria as they claimed the M18 EHF Championship 3 2022 crown in Craiova.
