Hungary survive massive comeback to reach final
There was no end to the entertainment at Audi Arena Györ as Hungary and Netherlands came through thrilling semi-finals, which saw massive turnarounds and dramatic conclusions.
The hosts and the Dutch are now set to face-off in Sunday’s gold medal match at 17:30 CET, both in search of their very first title at this age group.
Match details can be found HERE. All matches will be streamed on ehfTV.com.
Women’s 19 EHF EURO Semi-finals
Hungary vs Russia 29:27 (19:12)
A brilliant crowd of 3,500 enjoyed a back and forth clash of the highest order on Friday evening. Hungary got off to much the better start, storming into a 5:1 lead in the opening minutes.
And while Russia slowly worked their way into the game, they could not deal with Hungary’s varies and balanced attack, which produced 11 different goalscorers, while goalkeeper Lili Herczeg had a stormer, giving the hosts a 19:12 lead at half-time.
Russia needed something big to change in the second half and they delivered that change immediately. With Valeriia Maslova and Elena Mikhaylichenko once again leading the way in attack, Russia managed an eight-goal turnaround, taking the lead with seven minutes left on the clock.
But Hungary would not be denied, they settled once again and rediscovered their first half form to draw level, before a quickfire double from Gréta Kácsor handed them a spot in the final.
Netherlands vs Norway 31:29 (16:11)
Speed and plenty of goals were on the agenda tonight and Norway wasted no time in getting the party started, going 3:0 up in the opening three minutes.
Nikita Van der Vliet took it upon herself to wake the Netherlands up, scoring their first three and soon they were in control, taking a 16:11 lead with them into the dressing rooms.
Much like the first semi-final, this was certainly a tale of two halves. While the Dutch appeared to be in control early on, Norway suddenly hit top gear midway through the second period, going on a 10:3 run to take the lead.
Up steps Larissa Nüsser, who reeled off a quickfire hat-trick of goals in the dying minutes to give her side the decisive two-goal lead.
Follow the Women’s 19 EHF EURO
All games of the Women’s 19 EHF EURO will be live on ehfTV.com.
For all the match throw-off times click HERE.
For the official competition website click HERE.
TEXT:
Chris O'Reilly