Poland were down by three at half-time and as much as six in the second half. They almost overcame the deficit but fell short in the end and lost 21:25 to Serbia in the second Group B match.

GROUP B
Serbia vs Poland 25:21 (9:8)

The game got off to a slow start with no one finding the back of the net until Andela Jannjusevic gave Serbia a one-goal lead just before the four-minute mark. After six minutes, it was still only 2:0 for the Serbs. Afterwards, the teams began trading goals for the remainder of the first half with the Serbian lead staying steady at four goals throughout.

A Polish goal from Adrianna Gorna one minute before half-time cut the deficit to only three at 13:16.

After the break, it could not have begun any better for the Serbs as they went on a 3:0 run to start the half to take their biggest lead of the game at six goals. Despite another slow start to the half, Poland did not give up.

Led by Magda Balsam and Aleksandra Rosiak, the Polish side chipped away at the lead, bringing the deficit to only two goals before Serbia coach Uros Bregar called a time-out to try to settle his team down. After the time-out, Natasa Lovric missed a shot, and Poland took advantage with another Rosiak goal making it a one-point game.

But that was a close as they would get as the Serbian side finished on a crucial 5:2 run in the last 15 minutes of the game to finally put Poland away and secure the two points.

Both teams must now regroup after an emotional 60 minutes for key games on Sunday in Llíria, with Poland taking on RHF and Serbia taking on Cameroon.

hummel Player of the Match: Aleksandra Rosiak, Poland

Photo: RFEBM / J . Navarro