Hungary and Slovakia battled in an intense match to kick off their respective 25th IHF Women’s World Championship campaigns. After an even first half, Hungary performed strong in the second half, securing the win. 

GROUP E
Hungary vs Slovakia 35:29 (16:16)

What a beginning: the second Group E match in Pabellón Polideportivo Pla De L’Arc, between Hungary and Slovakia, was like fireworks. Both teams started with full speed and, thus, the game was tied at 4:4 after five spectacular minutes. Petra Vamos for Hungary showed off her offensive strength by contributing three goals early on while on the other side Nikoleta Trunkova also scored three goals for her Slovakia team. 

The game stayed tight over the course of the first half, with several lead changes. The balanced score (10:10) however prevailed in this nail-biter. Hungary established a two-point lead late in the first half, but the Slovakian side fought back to cut the deficit again and tied the score before heading to the changing rooms (16:16). 

Therefore, both coaches, Vladimir Golovin for Hungary and Pavol Streicher for Slovakia, were now to find the game-winning solution for their respective teams. 

However, the second half started how the first ended. A Slovakian goal was immediately answered by Hungary. Greta Marton scored twice for Hungary to increase the lead to 21:18 – it was the first time in the game that a team were up by three goals. And the Hungarians were able to keep the momentum going even after a Slovakian time-out. With another two goals they seemed to slip away but Slovakia fought back. Goalkeeper Melinda Szikora and centre back Noemi Hafra were key factors in this strong run for Hungary with several impressive saves and goals. 

With 10 minutes to go, Hungary established a comfortable lead by five goals (30:25). Slovakia fought their hearts out, but the margin was already too big. In the end, Hungary pulled away and secured the opening win at the 25th IHF Women`s World Championship (35:29). 

Slovakia will face strong looking Germans next on Saturday 4 December 2021 at 18:00 CET, while Hungary and the Czech Republic are meeting later that evening at 20:30 CET. 

hummel Player of the Match: Noemi Hafra, Hungary 

Photo: RFEBM / J. Navarro