Excellent defence leads Denmark to first points – and the main round

The Scandinavian side recovered from their opening loss to Slovenia and created a decisive advantage in the first 30 minutes, then only had to defend the lead in the second period to clinch their first points. For Serbia, it was the second defeat, after their round 1 loss to Sweden.

But hope is not gone for Serbia. Sweden and Denmark are through to the main round from group B, and Serbia and Slovenia have everything to play for in round 3 on Tuesday.

GROUP B

Serbia vs Denmark 21:34 (11:18)

• Denmark scored the opening goal of the game and never looked back, holding the lead from that point to the final whistle, with only a one equaliser from Serbia, at 6:6 in the 12th minute
• the match followed a similar pattern to Serbia’s game against Sweden in round 1, when the damage was done early and no comeback eventuated. At half-time, the score line was clear, and 10 minutes from the end, Andrea Hansen netted for the first 10-goal difference, 28:18
• Denmark had superb defence that held airtight in the middle, forcing Serbia to patiently look for chances, which they usually found only from a distance and the wing. On the other hand, Denmark’s goals rained in from all positions and almost every player made their way onto the score board
• a stellar opening from goalkeeper Sandra Toft helped Denmark to their early lead, as she had a 45 per cent save rate through the first quarter in what was her 37th EHF EURO game — a new record for Denmark
• the player of the match award went to Kathrine Heindahl, thanks to her four goals and important role in defence

A perfect 100 for Denmark

The game against Serbia was Denmark’s 100th at the EHF EURO — a milestone only record champions Norway have passed. In total, it was Denmark’s 64th win — and three of those victories were to claim the trophy, in 1994, 1996 and 2002. Two of those wins were to reach the final, in 1998 and 2004, though they took the silver medal on those occasions.

The team have also had four draws at the event and 32 defeats. Their overall goal tally is 2,591. Denmark hope to add one more win and finish the preliminary round strong, though even if they fail to do so, they will proceed to the main round even with a loss to Sweden in round 3.

Andjela Janjusevic, back player of Serbia: “It was a tough game for us. The truth is that we didn’t play as we wanted. But we will use all our energy to rise and to prepare for our next match.”

Mette Tranborg, right back of Denmark: “We talked a lot about intensity before the game. We knew that Serbia are very good when they are intense, so we had to match that, and we succeeded with that.”