RHF too strong for Poland, clinch main round berth

Poland scored the first goal of the match but then RHF showed all their strength to secure a comfortable lead at half-time. Poland, however, fought back in an incredible comeback in the second half, cutting the deficit short to just one goal multiple times but had to give in at the end. 

RHF advance to the main round with two wins while Poland hves two tough losses in their records now. 

GROUP B
Poland vs RHF 23:26 (10:16)

Poland did not have any time to waste to get started as Monika Kobylinska scored the first goal of the game within the first 60 seconds. RHF, in turn, answered with four goals quickly setting the tone for this game. Poland’s coach had seen enough after roughly four minutes and called a time-out to get his team back on track. 

However, not only chasing their opponents seemed like a dejà-vu for Poland, the poor performance from the 7m line could be witnessed again as well. The RHF goalkeeper saved the first two penalties and basically destroyed most of the Polish ambitions early in the game. 

RHF performed strongly, being led by Ekaterina Ilina, who recorded five goals already in the first half. At half-time, RHF’s lead was comfortably solid, 16:10. All signs indicated a second win and a main round spot for RHF at this point. 

The teams scored evenly in the beginning of the second half, with Poland determined to close the gap. And they did. After 45 minutes, RHF had to call a time-out as Poland were only three goals away (19:22). Aleksandra Rosiak scored another goal for her Poland squad, making this game even more exciting. Now RHF seemed shocked and were for some time unable to score, producing turnovers. 

Poland were able to make it a one-goal gap twice in the further course but Antonina Skorobogatchenko kept RHF in the lead with successful 7m shots. Despite Poland fighting their heart out, RHF were able to pull off the win in the end, 26:23. 

While RHF advance to the main round, Poland with hummel Player of the match Aleksandra Rosiak have to once again come back after a tough match and fight Cameroon for their first win at this championship. 

Poland’s last preliminary round match will be against Cameroon on Tuesday, 7 December 2021 at 18:00, while RHF will take on Serbia later that day at 20:30. 

hummel Player of the Match: Aleksandra Rosiak, Poland 

Photo: RFEBM / J. Navarro