It should be a perfect evening. Team boss Ales Pajovic drew from the full at the start of the European Handball Championship against Poland. Nikola Bilyk and Alexander Hermann celebrated their comeback at a major event, they did a good job in preparation, all the players were fit and, unlike the Poles, they were spared Corona. The anticipation of the start of the EURO was noticeable in the players.
In the end you had to accept a 31:36 defeat. “We were a little surprised by their defense at the start of the game. They played very aggressively, but we still found our way to the goal via the circle and the backcourt. The attack wasn’t the problem today either. That was in the cover. We didn’t manage to stop Poland in one-on-one and two-on-two, struggling to defend against their big pivots,” said Ales Pajovic after the game against Poland.
The team boss also criticized the many goals conceded. 36 goals is too much. It’s hard to win a game there. But the guys fought and we’re looking forward now, going further and preparing Germany ahead.” Germany is Austria’s next group opponent. This Sunday at 6 p.m., the ÖHB men want to win their first European Championship. However, the balance sheet does not speak for Austria. In 54 games there were only four wins. The DHB selection is currently struggling with a change, but was still able to win 33:29 against Belarus.
Nevertheless, the Germans go into this game as favorites. To top it all off, in addition to the defeat against Poland, you also have to cope with the absence of Lukas Hutecek. In the game against Poland he suffered an ankle injury. Lukas Hutecek has to take a break for six weeks and keep his leg as still as possible. Lucky in disguise, said ÖHB sports director Patrick Fölser: “At first we feared the worst. We will miss Huti, no question, but unfortunately injuries are part of the sport. We have to deal with that and wish him a speedy recovery.”
Lukas Hutecek was immediately nominated for his former FIVERS teammate Marin Martinovic, who joined the team in the evening after a negative PCR test and is celebrating his EURO debut against Germany this Sunday.
