Russia’s in the semis – but without glamour

27 Jul. 2010

Russia’s in the semis – but without glamour

By scoring the great number of 39 against Brazil the Russians qualified as third team for the semis finals of the Women’s Junior WCH in Korea after the host and Norway – and as the first team from group II. If the Russians will become first or second in their group will be decided later – in the match Montenegro – Hungary in the evening session in Gwangju.  In group I Serbia beat Croatia in the Ex-Yugoslavian duel. 
 
Main Round:
Group I:  Serbia – Croatia 33:27 (16:12)
Serbia won the prestigious duel very clearly and overtook Croatia in the final ranking of this group with two points (Croatia: 1 point) in the end. Thanks to their higher individual class, their bigger experience, their cleverness and power Serbia dominated the game from the very beginning. Players like Trifunovic, Cvijic or Zivkovic were clearly stronger than their opponents that lacked power from an early stage of the match. Especially in attack the Croats had enormous problems against the tall Serbian defense.  Playing very slow the Serbian defense could arrange themselves – and aside goalkeeper Marija Colic  saved some shots. After Croatia had reduced the gap to 6:8, the Serbian coach took his time-out and his team was back on track again, even as the halftime result was “only” 16:12. But right after the break the Serbs had their best period, as Croatia seemed to be very tired. Serbia extended the lead to 24:14 in only eleven minutes and decided the game. In contrast to matches before like against Germany or Netherlands the Serbs didn’t give the lead from their hands again – as the opponent was weaker.  The Croatians who reduced the distance only  a little until the end now play the placement’s match 11/12 against Brazil, as the Serbs participate in the 9/10 game on Thursday in Gwangju, where Spain will be their opponent. Top scorers were Zivkovic with 12 goals for Serbia and Anita Poljak (seven for Croatia).  “The Serbian team was better than us, as we had missed the start and lacked concentration. In the second half we improved, but couldn’t come closer than three goals,” Croatian player Marta Tomac said after the match. The Serbian assistant coach Zoran Valdevit was satisfied: “For the first time we play in Seoul we showed a good performance. Maybe it’s why both teams have the same school of handball. Croatia was good, but not good enough.” 

Group II: Brazil – Russia 37:39 (17:20)
The result looks closer as the Russian dominance was in this decisive game for the record World Champion. So coach Alexej Gumyanov wasn’t satisfied with his players:  “I’m disappointed. Maybe it’s the Russian mentality that my players wanted to win without losing some power against a weaker team.  But I’m sure that my team will improve at the final weekend and give 100 percent again.” Russia took the lead right from the beginning, but even after the 8:4 the Brazilians were always close to the clear favourite. After the break Russia extended the lead clearly to 25:19 and then decelerated completely, knowing that they have won the game.  Latest everything was clear at the score of 39:33 – then Brazil scored the last four goals.  The South Americans were proud on this result, even as they finish group II on the sixth and last place and now will meet Croatia for the 11/12 place. Thais Marcondez scored nine goals for the Brazilians. Top scorer for the Russians who won their seventh consecutive match were Khmyrova and Nikitina, each scored eight goals.