Handball: European Championship debutant shined particularly brightly in the opening win

Austria achieved the opening victory it had hoped for at the European Handball Championships in Germany: Team boss Ales Pajovic’s team defeated group outsiders Romania 31:24 (15:14) in Mannheim yesterday. This success was practically mandatory for the goal of promotion to the main round. “I’m very, very satisfied. That was a great start to the European Championships,” Pajovic congratulated his selection.

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Austria got off to the right start against Romania, against whom they had already celebrated two victories in qualifying for the tournament: Lukas Hutecek broke through to make it 1-0, and Constantin Möstl parried the Romanians’ counterattack. The European Championship debutant in the ÖHB goal did an excellent job and managed an exceptional 43 percent of blocked throws. He was deservedly named player of the game. “It’s a dream that’s coming true,” said the 23-year-old, who immediately put the brakes on his euphoria. “We haven’t achieved anything yet. Our job is not yet done.”

His counterpart was, at least initially, responsible for Austria not being able to pull away: Ionut Iancu is not well remembered by Upper Austrian handball fans, as he also guarded the Steaua Bucharest goal that sent HC Linz out of the European Cup this season.

Romania’s defense had its problems, especially with Hutecek’s dynamism. First Nicusor Negru (14th) was shown the red card after an attack on the Lemgo legionnaire, only eleven minutes later Liviu Caba followed him into the shower.

Strong defense

“The key to success is our 6-0 defense,” Pajovic said before kick-off. The formation led by defense chief Lukas Herburger made Möstl’s work easier and won several balls. The Austrians converted this dominance into goals after the restart when they pulled away to 18:14 with three goals in a row.

The longer the second half lasted, the more Red-White-Red pulled away. That gave Pajovic the chance to give his regular seven time to breathe and make substitutions. In the end, Sebastian Frimmel was the Austrians’ most successful thrower with six goals.

In order to achieve the top two place in the preliminary group required for the main round, Austria still needs a surprise win against a more highly rated opponent. The first opportunity comes on Sunday against Croatia (8.30 p.m., ORF Sport+).