The second matchday of the Women’s Intercontinental Phase of the IHF Trophy produced yet another day of fantastic matches in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, with the hosts topping the table in the youth (U17) category, while Canada made it two out of two in the junior (U19) category.

After dropping Uzbekistan with a 39:31 win in the first matchday, Canada confirmed their credentials with another good performance against Colombia, taking a 35:28 win, despite a minor hiccup in the first half.

At that point, Colombia used a 4:0 unanswered run to take back the lead, 8:7, after 14 minutes, but Canada wrestled back the lead, with a strong 5:2 finish in the first half, as Florence Boisclair dominated Colombia’s defence.

There was no question about the winner in the second half, after a strong start from Canada, which had Boisclair scoring nine goals and the top scorer of the competition so far, Mahély Lemaire, adding six more goals, to take her overall tally to 22 goals.

Canada are now leading the way, with four points, two ahead of hosts Bulgaria and Guinea, with the African side sweating over the outcome of their match against Uzbekistan, which they finally won, 34:33.

It was a game of cat and mouse between Guinea and Uzbekistan, with the Asian side leading at the break, 17:15, as the lead changed hands four times in the first half. The scenario repeated itself in the second part, with Uzbekistan leading by four goals, 21:17, after 37 minutes.

With 10 minutes to go, Uzbekistan were still leading, 28:26, but Guinea used a 7:0 unanswered run to be comfortable in the lead, 33:28, with four minutes left, only for Uzbekistan to cut the gap to one goal only three minutes later.

Diaraye Soumah, which had 13 goals from 13 shots in the match, finally scored once again, with Guinea taking a 34:33 win to extend their chances of winning the competition.

On Friday, Colombia take on Guinea, while Bulgaria have their last chance of winning the title when they face Canada in a must-win match.

After both matches ended in a draw on the first day of the competition in the youth category, Bulgaria and Uzbekistan emerged winners on the second day, as they top the table, with three and two points respectively, as the Asian side has one match in hand.

Canada had no chance against Uzbekistan, which had two 7:0 unanswered runs in the first half, as their attacking game was simply better. Ilmira Bayjanova had nine goals, while Shalola Keldiyorova and Naimakhon Turgunova added seven goals each in a match totally controlled by the Asian side, which took a 38:31 win, with 41 goals scored in the second half.

The match between Bulgaria and Venezuela had the same scenario, with Bulgaria taking an early 14:2 lead and securing the win early in the match. Martina Todorova had 11 goals in a match where goalkeeper Emili Andreeva also saved 19 shots for a 39% saving efficiency, propelling Bulgaria to a 41:28 win.

On Friday, Canada face Guinea, while Venezuela cross paths against Uzbekistan.

All the matches of the Women’s Intercontinental Phase of the IHF Trophy can we watched on the IHF Competitions YouTube channel free of charge.

Photo credit: Bulgarian Handball Federation