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Huge back-court show as Croatia remain unbeaten

19 Jul. 2019

Huge back-court show as Croatia remain unbeaten

Croatia survived a second-half comeback from Hungary in order to claim their third set of two points at the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, as they recorded a third victory in as many matches with their most impressive performance yet. Croatia moved to six points on the table with the win, while Hungary remained on four following what was their first loss at Spain 2019. 

GROUP C
Croatia vs Hungary 37:32 (22:15)

They reached the semi-finals at 2017 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship in Georgia, and the 1998 Croatia squad’s campaign at Spain 2019 has so far looked somewhat similar to that event two years ago. In Georgia, Croatia did not win a match until round three. At Spain 2019, they recorded wins in their opening two games, but they were not as a result of the team’s best form. 

However, on Friday in round three, it was a different story – particularly in the first 30 minutes. Hungary’s first attack ended with a save from Croatia keeper Ivan Eres and was followed immediately by a goal on a counter attack. Hungary matched Croatia’s pace early on, and their goalkeeper Kristof Gyori also had a great opening. Both keepers made a save in the first two minutes, but despite their form, the pace of the game saw six goals scored in just four minutes. 

After 3:3 in the fourth, Croatia hit a 5:3 lead in the fifth minute, and the momentum was already starting to swing in their favour, prompting Hungary coach Janos Gyurka to call the first time-out in the sixth minute. But Croatia were unstoppable. When coach Davor Dominikovic made his first line-up changes around the 13th minute, his team had pulled ahead to 11:6. 

Hungary’s sixth goal came in the 12th minute, and after that, Croatia kept them scoreless for nine minutes. By the time Hungary found the goal again, courtesy of Borzas, the score board showed 14:7. Though his team trailed by seven, Hungary keeper Gyori had a save rate of 45% – an extraordinary feat considering the score line. 

At the 20-minute mark, Croatia’s back court were clearly the dominant factor, as right back Ivan Martinovic tallied four goals off four shots, centre back Filip Vistorop also counted four, and Josip Sarac had three from three. It was Sarac who hit the goal right before the buzzer to keep Croatia a seven-goal lead at the break, at which point 19 of their goals had come from just four back players – as left back Halil Jaganjac had taken his turn causing havoc for Hungary as well. 

Croatia’s power and speed decreased a little in the second period, and Hungary were able to close the gap and force their opponents to refocus. Hungary decreased the deficit against them to five goals by the 45th minute, 29:24. Croatia changed their keeper to bring in Filip Perec in the 48th minute, a 31:26, and he went on to make four critical saves (40%) that helped his side secure the two points. 

The game could have gone either way with a four-goal gap and just under five minutes on the clock, but it was decided by Jaganjac and Martinovic. Jaganjac pulled Croatia in front to 36:31 in the 57th minute, before Martinovic sealed the win with his 12th goal overall. 

In total, Croatia’s backs contributed 34 of their goals – nine from Vistorop, seven from Sarac and six from Jaganjac, alongside Martinovic’s total that earned him the player of the match award.

Player of the match: Ivan Martinovic, Croatia