Hungarian defence prevails in EHF EURO opener against Poland

GROUP F

Hungary vs Poland 29:21 (14:10)

H2H: 9-1-2
Top scorers: Richárd Bodó 5/7 (Hungary); Michał Olejniczak 3/8, Maciej Gębala 3/5, Tomasz Gębala 3/4 (all Poland)
Goalkeeper saves: Kristóf Palasics 13/33 (Hungary); Miłosz Wałach 6/20, Jakub Skrzyniarz 3/15 (both Poland)
POTM presented by Grundfos: Kristóf Palasics

• Hungary put on a defensive masterclass in the first 24 minutes of their EHF EURO opener against Poland; only Piotr Jędraszczyk was able to find some gaps in the Hungarian defence in the first quarter
• in the last six minutes of the first half, Poland fought back, scoring three unanswered goals from minute 25 to 29, resulting in a 14:10 score at half-time
• Kristóf Palasics put on a stellar performance, collecting 13 saves (4/4 from the penalty line) and adding a goal to his stats sheet; after 23 minutes, the Hungarian goalkeeper had saved 58 per cent of the Polish shots and created the biggest lead of the match at that point, scoring to make it 11:5
• Poland had to compensate for a red card against Wiktor Jankowski after 34 minutes, as he hit Miklós Rosta in the face; despite being a man down, Poland tied this phase and were able to keep their disadvantage at four goals
• Hungary did not stumble afterwards and were able to create a six-goal gap in minute 50
• Poland tried to climb back once more using a seven-against-six attack, but the Hungarian defence created technical faults and Kristóf Palasics added a couple more saves

Hard-hitting defences show off in Kristianstad

In the days leading up to this match, players from both teams expected a tough fight for their opening match. Defences on both ends of the court proved these assumptions to be right. Hungary made life especially hard for the Polish offence during the first 24 minutes, with Adrián Sipos and Zoran Ilić collecting blocked shots early in the match.

In the following minutes, the Polish defence created more stops, conceding only two more goals until half-time. However, Wiktor Jankowski took it too far in minute 34, hitting Miklós Rosta in the face and causing a red card.

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