1,600 spectators in the sold-out Rieden-Vorkloster sports hall in Bregenz had flirted with a sensation, but the opponent was simply too strong and hardened for that. Austria’s men’s national handball team lost Iceland 30:34 (13:18) in the World Cup play-off first leg. A courageous race to catch up after the break sparks at least a glimmer of hope for the return match on Saturday (6 p.m., ORF Sport+) in Hafnarfjördur, where the score will be settled. Only the overall winner will advance to the final round, which will take place in Poland and Sweden in January 2023.
“We allowed ourselves things in the first half that you can’t afford. But it was great that we fought back afterwards,” said Sebastian Frimmel about the game in which the pendulum swung in favor of the with after a balanced 20 minutes eleven German legionnaires spiked guests had knocked out.
Nevertheless, it became tight again after a seven-goal deficit in the meantime. Robert Weber shortened the lead to 27:28 (52nd), but the turning point was not to succeed.
“We weren’t that far away. Now we have nothing left to lose and we want to keep improving,” emphasized Weber. “Minus four against such a strong team is okay. Let’s see, we’ll try everything again in the second leg,” assured ÖHB team boss Ales Pajovic.
Iceland was fifth at the 1997 World Championships, Olympic silver medalist in 2008, third at the 2010 European Championships and, after a long dry spell, this year sixth at the European Championships. This team has a lot of quality, yesterday especially Bjarki Mar Elisson, one of the best left wingers in Europe, stood out with eleven goals.
The only second competitive win over Iceland was ultimately not within reach. On October 30, 2010, Austria triumphed in the European Championship qualifier by 28:23. The ÖHB selection around Nikola Bilyk and Boris Zivkovic (six goals each) would have taken such a great moment with a kiss on the hand this time. “But it wasn’t realistic. From my point of view, Iceland is currently one of the top five in the world,” explained captain Bilyk.
Source: Nachrichten
