Netherlands bounce back to winning ways with late run against Montenegro

Taking full advantage of their depth, the Netherlands clinched a 28:25 win against Montenegro and progressed to the Placement Match 5/6, while Bojana Popovic’s side heads for the Placement Match 7/8.

PLACEMENT MATCHES 5/8
Montenegro vs Netherlands 25:28 (13:14)

The start was slow and ineffective for the Netherlands, which were aiming to get back into the top-5 at the IHF Women’s World Championship, after a ninth place finish at Spain, which followed their maiden world title at Japan 2019. 

Without influential centre back Estavana Polman in their roster, the Dutch side fell victim to a flawless 6:1 run from Montenegro, which took the score to 9:4, after the Netherlands’ goalkeeper could only save 11% of the shots they faced, with Bojana Popovic’s side taking all the momentum from the last minutes of their quarter-finals loss against Denmark, which saw a fantastic comeback from Montenegro.

This prompted a quick team time-out from coach Per Johansson, which urged more caution and preached calm from his side, which they duly delivered. On the back of a five-goal performance from right back Dione Housheer, who had a 100% shooting efficiency until the last shot of the first half, the Netherlands bounced back.

That 9:4 Montenegro lead morphed into a 14:13 lead for the Netherlands, after a 10:4 run, also powered by a 50% saving efficiency from goalkeeper Rinka Duijndam, as Montenegro did not score for the last seven minutes and 40 seconds of the second half, with the match turned on its head by a strong revival of the Netherlands.

Trading errors, the two sides locked themselves in a nip-and-tuck battle, with the score deadlocked until the 44th minute, as Montenegro took advantage of the Netherlands’ plethora of turnovers. A 3:0 unanswered run, spanning between the 43rd and the 48th minutes, was a turning point into the match, as the Dutch side took a 21:18 lead, which they never relented until the end.

Housheer continued her excellent run, taking her overall tally in the match to seven goals, while right wing Angela Malestein also delivered an excellent match, scoring eight times, with six goals in the second half, while Montenegro relied on wings Nina Bulatovic and Dijana Mugosa, plus line player Tatjana Brnovic, who combined for 15 of their side’s 25 goals in the match.

The Netherlands rode their depth, clearly better than Montenegro’s, until the end of the match, as they controlled the closing stages expertly, to clinch a 28:25 win, as Montenegro collapsed entirely in the end, which helped the Dutch side to seal a spot in the Placement Match 5/6, where they face Germany.

On the other hand, Montenegro head to the Placement Match 7/8, an improvement from the 22nd place from two years ago, where they will face Czechia.

hummel Player of the Match: Dione Housheer (Netherlands)