Montenegro go back to winning ways as they beat Senegal

With a commanding win against Senegal, 29:21, Montenegro stayed in contention for a quarter-final spot. 

Main round Group I
Senegal vs Montenegro 21:29 (8:18)

Following this result, Montenegro have six points, just like Group I leaders Sweden, who will play their match later today against Hungary. In turn, Senegal lost even a mathematical chance to progress, suffering their second straight defeat in the main round. 

The African side, who had surprisingly shared spoils with Croatia in their opening match of the 26th IHF Women's World Championship, hoped to surprise another European team, but Montenegro, who were looking to bounce back from a loss against Croatia, simply proved too strong for the African side, and they had a particularly big advantage in the first half. 

Fanta Keita opened the score, but it was the only time Senegal led in the match. Keita scored twice by the sixth minute, but then got an injury, while Soukeina Sagna, who has been the team's main attacking force throughout the tournament, only netted twice from the 7m shots before half-time, missing all five shots from an open play.

Besides, Senegal had many turnovers, which resulted in Montenegro's counterattacks. And Marina Rajcic boasted a 57% per cent save rate in the first half, proving that she is a solid replacement for Marta Batinovic, who is out for a long time with a severe knee injury suffered against Croatia.

Between minutes 16 and 27, the Montenegro had a particularly impressive 7:0 lead, scoring from all angles and creating a 16:6 lead, and the double-digit gap between the sides remained until the break, basically removing all questions about the outcome.

In the second half, Montenegro somewhat slowed down, yet they firmly had the match under their control. Rajcic ended the game with 11 saves and a 50% save rate, while the Balkan team's goals were evenly distributed among her teammates, with four of them scoring four times. In fact, Bojana Popovic used an opportunity to rotate her squad, saving energy before the crucial match against Sweden on Monday, which might decide Montenegro's future in the competition. 

hummel Player of the Match: Ivona Pavicevic (Montenegro)