Romania's comeback stops France in Podgorica

On the opening day of the W17 EHF EURO in Montenegro, Romania fought back from a four-goal deficit in the second half against France to earn a 28:26 victory.

Meanwhile, Switzerland, Russia, Hungary and Germany all made strong impressions courtesy of their wide-margin successes.

GROUP A

Denmark vs Montenegro 18:25 (12:12)

• Montenegro’s 3:0 lead after five minutes was the biggest advantage either side had in the first half
• in the second half, Montenegro capitalised on a near 10-minute goal drought for Denmark to lead 21:15 after 50 minutes
• Lana Pavicevic (six goals) was Montenegro’s top scorer in the match, while Laura Thestrup (four goals) took the honours for Denmark

Austria vs Switzerland 24:35 (11:17)

• Switzerland rapidly seized control of the match and powered to a 9:3 lead, forcing Austria to call their second timeout in the 14th minute
• Sev Albrecht, who was named as Switzerland’s best player, scored nine of her 10 goals in the second half as Switzerland extend their margin to 11 goals at full-time
• Switzerland goalkeeper Claire Hartz had an impressive game, making 14 saves from 35 shots at a 40 per cent efficiency rate

GROUP B

Sweden vs Slovenia 21:18 (12:7)

• Sweden established a 6:2 lead in the 10th minute after several saves from goalkeeper Noa Rots created fast break opportunities
• although Sweden extended their advantage to six goals (13:7) for the first time in the 33^rd minute, Nena Cernigoj’s five goals for Slovenia in the second period ensured that Sweden’s victory was only confirmed in the last five minutes
• Emma Mihailovic’s influence in attack for Sweden was apparent in both halves as she finished the match with six goals

Russia vs Croatia 37:23 (15:10)

• a 6:0 for Russia put them ahead 8:2 after 12 minutes – effectively ending Croatia’s hopes of causing an upset
• after the break, Russia’s attack proved almost unstoppable for Croatia, who trailed by 10 goals (28:18) in the 45th minute
• Russia’s Alina Reshetnikova and Croatia’s Katja Vukovic both scored six goals and received best player honours

GROUP C

Norway vs Portugal 31:25 (17:14)

• Emma Helland-Dovle scored four goals in the first 10 minutes for Norway as they led by three goals on several occasions
• Portgual trailed by only one goal in the 42nd minute, but Norway took a commanding 26:21 lead after a 5:0 run that featured three goals from Ine Fremo
• while Portugal goalkeeper Rita Guimaraes made 12 saves from 32 shots faced, Norway still finished the match with a 49 per cent attack efficiency

Hungary vs Slovakia 40:13 (20:6)

• in a one-sided match, Hungary opened the match with a staggeringly impressive 15:0 run. Slovakia’s first goal of the match came in the 20th minute through Karin Kuzmova
• Dorottya Molnar and Anna Szabo scored 11 of Hungary’s 20 goals in the first period. Ultimately, all of Hungary’s court players scored at least once in the match
• Luca Csikos’s six goals for Hungary in the last 20 minutes were enough for her to be named as their best player

GROUP D

France vs Romania 26:28 (14:12)

• France held a four-goal lead (23:19) in the 48th minute but only scored three more times thereafter as Romania completed an impressive comeback
• Romania’s Alisia Lorena Boiciuc scored 12 goals, including seven penalties, while teammate Maria Diana Lixandroiu netted seven times from open play
• despite losing the match, France had 10 players register on the scoresheet. Lylou Borg led France in attack with seven goals

Germany vs Czech Republic 40:28 (21:12)

• Germany’s Lotta Röpcke netted five times in the first half as her side gradually increased their lead from 8:5 in the 11th minute to 21:12 at the break
• Veronika Gabrhelova (eight goals) tried her best to keep the Czech Republic in touch in the second half, but Germany’s lead hit double figures in the 41st minute (28:18)
• three Germany players scored more than five goals in the match: Viola Leuchter, Nieke Kühne (both nine goals) and Lotta Röpcke (six goals)