Slovak handball players met two goals out of three, Kukučka: Bratislava was in our power – Športky.sk

KOŠICE – Handball players of Slovakia met two goals at the European Championship 2022, but the third, braver one, was already beyond their strength. With their performances, they earned applause from the spectators and also won the premiere victory, but they did not reach the next stage.

“One of the positives is that the young players have gained experience from challenging matches,” said coach Peter Kukučka.

The Slovaks entered the championship by losing to Norway by 10 goals (25:35), but in the next match they defeated Lithuania (31:26), thus achieving Slovakia’s historically first victory at the European Championships. The team met one of the goals and at the same time approached the progress to the next phase. However, the unexpected victory of Russia over Norway (23:22) did not play into their carats, after which they needed to defeat the Russians by six goals. This goal was beyond their power and they lagged behind the Russians since the beginning of the match. In the end, they lost by nine goals (27:36).

“The whole first half was bad. We had trouble fighting against the opponent’s robust and strong defense. We didn’t score goals from all chances and we lost confidence. Then the Russians” rolled “us with the second wave. We didn’t manage to come back or change. We also had two “Unnecessary weaknesses, in short, the whole first half was unsuccessful. Before the second act, we said we would try to win it. We also managed what we were happy for.” Cuckoo stated.

After the victory over Lithuania, his charges assumed that the Russians would succumb to the Norwegians, in which case any victory over Russia would be enough for the Slovaks to advance. “We were probably under pressure from the necessary victory by six goals. When the Russians bounced back to three goals, we were already minus nine and it is possible that this subsequently affected the further course of the match. However, I think that except for the explosion in the first half the Russians and I presented ourselves with a pretty good game, ” said Cuckoo.

Slovak handball players also wanted to introduce themselves in Bratislava

His team wanted to show themselves not only to the spectators in the Steel Arena in Košice, which was the venue of the basic F-group, but also in Bratislava. It would mean advancing among the top 12 teams of the championship, which would be another milestone. “We also had a goal to introduce ourselves in Bratislava and I think it was in our power. We don’t want to argue or say what it would be like … But no one expected the Russians to conquer Norway, but in the end they convinced everyone that they had great quality, ” said Cuckoo.

The Slovaks finally took 3rd place in the four-member F-group with a score of 83:97. The resulting impression of the Slovaks’ performance was significantly influenced by the victory over Lithuania, thanks to which the president of the Slovak Handball Association, Jaroslav Holeša, spoke about the positive evaluation: “In terms of sports, the victory over Lithuania is the best we have achieved at these European Championships. We evaluate the performance of our team at the European Championships. We did not succeed in the match with Russia, but we met the two goals we had. “The third goal was more on the level of desire and said that we would like to be among the 12 best teams.”

As many as 15 players made their debut at the European Championships

There were up to 15 players in the 19-member staff of the Slovak team who made their debut at the European Championships in Košice. The performances of several of them pleased the coach. Jakub Prokop, a 23-year-old clutch, joined the leaders with 16 goals, and Marek Hniďák, Tomáš Smetánka, Martin Potisk and others showed their potential. “The young players have gained experience from challenging matches, which are a lot and there is a lot of pressure in them. I think there are more players in our team that we can build on in the future.” Cuckoo noted.

A few days before the tournament, the matches in Bratislava and Košice threatened to be played without an audience. In the end, however, the stands could be filled to 25 percent of capacity, which meant more than 2,000 possible spectators. At the matches of the Slovak team in Košice, this capacity was not filled, 1568, 1504 and 1290 spectators gradually saw them. They created a lively environment for the home team with applause even after the losses. “The empty hall was a big scarecrow, so we are very grateful that we were able to have the 25 percent capacity. I thank the spectators in Košice, who created a great atmosphere even in small numbers. The players enjoyed it and it helped them. It can’t be compared to atmosphere in Budapest or Szeged, where the halls are sold out, but we are also happy for this, ” added Holeša.

Results of SR at ME 2022:
SR – Norway 25:35 (11:15)
SR – Lithuania 31:26 (15: 8)
SR – Russia 27:36 (9:19)

SR goals: Tomáš Urban 20, Jakub Prokop 16, Martin Slaninka 6, Patrik Hruščák 6, Tomáš Smetánka 6, Oliver Rábek 5, Marek Hniďák 5, Martin Potisk 5, Lukáš Péchy 4, Martin Briatka 4, Dominik Kalafut 4, Ľubomír Ďuriš 1, Šimon Macháč 1.

Slovakia at ME:
2006: 3 0 0 3 71: 100 0 12th place
2008: 3 0 0 3 78: 101 0 12th place
2012: 3 0 1 2 70:92 0 12th place

• The author: © List
• Source: TASR