Slovenia earned first place in Group A at the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship with a nail-biting one-goal win over Spain, which extended the U20 European champions’ perfect record to five wins in five games. The round five match was Spain’s first loss, and means the hosts finish second on the table behind Slovenia. 

GROUP A
Slovenia vs Spain 22:21 (11:11)

The game to decide first place in Group A delivered just the thrilling contest expected, with the lead changing hands multiple times and nothing decided until the buzzer. 

With strong defence played by both sides – a solid 6-0 system by Slovenia and 5-1 from Spain early on – scoring progressed slowly and every chance at a shot was valuable. After he began the championship as the second-choice keeper, Slovenia’s Gasper Dobaj started in goal and had a superb match, saving at 45% until late in the first half. 

Spain were first on the board and held the edge through the opening minutes before the U20 European champions earned their first lead at 3:2 in the 12th minute. Slovenia pushed ahead by two goals in the 14th minute, and as the first quarter came to an end, held a 5:3 advantage. 

Slovenia’s deeper bench afforded them greater possibility for rotation, and one of the best combinations in attack proved to be twins Marko and Miha Kotar working with U20 EURO top scorer Gregor Ocvirk on the back court. Fast movement from Slovenia was the key, and they used it to create a three-goal lead in the 20th minute, 8:5, then move ahead by four, 9:5. 

After Slovenia had the lead at 10:6 in the 23rd, the hosts flipped the momentum with a 4:0 run that levelled the game in time for the break – and the stage was set for a great second period to decide first place on the table. 

The second 30 minutes saw much the same story as the first, with Spain creating a two-goal lead before Slovenia drew level at 15:15 in the 41st minute. Slovenia’s experience as the continental champions clearly helped them perform under the pressure, particularly as Spain were without their injured captain and crucial player Ian Tarrafeta. 

As the last 10 minutes began, Slovenia had a two-goal distance in their favour, 19:17, and they stayed in front by a steady two to three goals through the final stage – until the last minute. Dobaj nursed a 38% save rate in the last minute, but he did not need his strong form in the match, as Spain hit the post on no less than two important chances in the last 60 seconds. 

They finally found the goal, closing the gap to one with just over 20 seconds remaining off a breakthrough from Natan Suarez. With tension high with both sides’ supporters and the teams themselves emotional, Slovenia had two suspensions when they threw off for the last time – and they held onto possession as the seconds ticked down to earn a one-goal win after a thrilling game. 

Player of the match: Gregor Ocvirk, Slovenia