Czech Republic has surprised everyone so far: they were expected to be the weakest link in Group C, still they beat Hungary in the first match and caused a lot of trouble for Montenegro in the second. Today they had the chance to go to the main round with the maximum 4 points and they were fighting hard for it against the still unbeaten Denmark. The Czech girls started strong against the Danish team almost playing on home court in Malmö, supported by a lot of Danish fans. A lightning start helped them to a 3-0 lead after five minutes. The Czech team was constantly in front during the first half, even a change in the goal didn’t help Denmark. However, they were running close behind their opponent, but they weren’t close enough to equalize. After 20 minutes, the difference grew to 4 goals in favor of the Czech Republic, and in the rest of the half, the gap was swinging between 3 and 4 goals. The first half ended with the Czech team being 4 goals up (13-17).
The second half started with two quick Danish goals which meant that they were only 2 goals behind. Sandra Toft came back for the second half and she was performing much better than in the first half. The Czechs managed to keep the Danish team behind until the 44th minute: in the middle of the second half, Stine Jorgensen equalized from a penalty and from this point, the match was wide open again. The first Danish lead came at 25-24 with a fast break from Trine Ostergaard and the Czechs seemed to be out of fuel. Their shots were more powerless and less accurate and within a few minutes, the Danish side was up by 4 goals. Even though the Czech team was still in sight, they didn’t seem to have the power necessary to stay in the game. With less than 4 minutes left, the match was already decided: Denmark won 33-29 and is taking the maximum 4 points to the main round. The Czech Republic will still continue with 2 point that is a huge accomplishment for Sweden.
EHF EURO 2016 – Group C – 3rd round
Denmark – Czech Republic 33-29 (13-17)
Denmark: S. Jorgensen 9(5), A.M. Hansen 6, S. Nielsen 5, M. Fisker 3, A.C. Dornonville De La Cour 3, M. Tranborg 2, T. Ostergaard Jensen 2, L. Haugsted 1, K. Heindahl 1, L. Grigel 1
Czech Republic: P. Ruckova 7(5), J. Knedlikova 5, M. Jerabkova 4, M. Hrbkova 4, A. Stellnerova 3, I. Luzumova 3, P. Adamkova 2, K. Salcakova 1
Penalties: 5/5 ; 5/6
Suspensions: 14 minutes ; 10 minutes
Player of the match: Stine Jorgensen (DEN)
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