Portugal fail to score in final seconds as Norway take two points

20 Jan. 2021

Portugal fail to score in final seconds as Norway take two points

The last match of three today at the Dr Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Giza saw Portugal fight hard against Norway but hit the post in the last second to lose agonisingly by one goal.
 
MAIN ROUND GROUP III
Portugal vs Norway 28:29 (14:16)
 
The win for Norway tonight over Portugal puts them on the same total, four, as their opponents tonight who were just edged out in a game with many twists and turns.
 
Both coaches made a single change to their last preliminary group squad of 16 with Christian Berge bringing in Eivind Tangen for Norway and Paulo Pereira adding line player Daymaro Salina to his Portuguese side still missing their young influential pivot, Luis Frade, to an ankle sprain.
 
For the first quarter, the teams were neck-to-neck and only when right wing Kristian Bjornsen put his Norway side up by two (8:6) in the 16th minute was their daylight.
 
Pereira was not happy with his side though, despite them coming back to just a one-goal deficit (8:9) and his timeout at the 18th minute saw him speak non-stop for the whole 60 seconds, making impassioned pleas to his team.
 
But Norway were the better side after the pause, going up by three with a trademark Sander Sagosen bullet (12:9, 24th minute), but a couple of turnovers from Berge’s side either side of a Berge time out let the Portuguese back in a little, giving them hope going into the second half 14:16 behind.
 
Another Portuguese timeout after just seven second half minutes signalled worry for Pereira as he watched his side slip behind by four (17:21) as Norwegian goalkeeper Torbjorn Bergerud prevented them from getting too close. But their long road back to parity came, 20 minutes later. Pereira had brought on goalkeeper Humberto Gomes and his five saves in as many minutes helped even up the game (26:26, 53rd minute) and it entered a tense final seven minutes.
 
An attempted Goran Johannessen pass to Bjarte Myrhol was stolen by Victor Iturriza and Daymaro capitalised on the sluggish Norwegian attacking play to put his side up (27:26, 54th minute) – the first time they had led since the ninth minute. Norway were rocked, on the end of 10-minute 7:2 scoring run from the Portuguese. But immediately after the Portuguese go-ahead goal, Iturriza was shown red for his third two-minute, attempting to pull down Johannessen on the next attack.
 
This loss helped Norway as first Christian O’Sullivan on a breakthrough from distance and then a Petter Overby fast-break put the Norwegians 29:27 ahead, but a desperate Portuguese push at the end ensued.
 
An uncharacteristic weak Sagosen went straight at Gomes in the Portugal goal, albeit under passive play, and the ball broke to Portugal. A break in proceedings to mop the floor only added to the drama, and play restarted with 13 seconds on the clock.
 
But Portugal captain Rui Silva could only hit the post from nine metres and Norway celebrated wildly, joining their opponents at the top of the group.
 
“I have two feelings,” said Pereira after the game. “One of sadness because we could have won, we made some mistakes and some exclusions and couldn’t play 7 against 6. On the other hand I feel proud because we managed to play on the level of one of the best teams in the world.”
 
Berge also felt mixed emotions after the game. “It was a fast and tough game,” he said. “We had control in the second half and then we get two easy two-minutes and then the game was again very tight.
 
“I’m very glad that we have won it in the end. It was a step up for us, but I’m a bit disappointed and also satisfied.”

hummel Player of the Match: Humberto Gomes, Portugal