Jonas Gunnarsson Djurhuus from the Faroe Islands and Dominik Solák from the Czech Republic (illustrative photo)
Václav Šálek, ČTK
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The representatives have three points in the account after half of the four-member group. On Wednesday, they first lost in Russia in the opening match just 27:28 and on Friday they defeated the Faroe Islands 28:20 at home. The remaining qualifying opponent is Ukraine.
From each group, the first two teams will advance to the championships in Hungary and Slovakia next year and will be joined by the best four from third places. The Czechs are currently third with a two-point loss to second Ukraine, which played one more match. The qualification will end for Trtík’s charges with three duels at the turn of April and May.
In contrast to the first two qualifying matches, the Czech team was joined by the Petrovský pivot, who came from Germany despite travel restrictions.
The national team started retaliation against the favorite well. They scored the opening three goals and, thanks to a varied game and great commitment, dominated the entire first half. In the 23rd minute, Číp increased from the wing to 14:10, but in the end the Czechs went to the cabins at half-time with only a two-goal lead.
Soon after the change of sides, the Russians leveled off and in the 42nd minute, after Kašpárek’s mistake, they took the lead for the first time. In three minutes, the team jumped into a two-goal lead, but the home team quickly managed to catch up. Also thanks to the fact that the team was held by the goalkeeper Mrkva at key moments.
When Klíma raised to 27:25 in the 57th minute and Kosorotov then only stamped the crossbar from the seven, it seemed that the Czechs would not let go of the victory. But Babák only hit the bar from another attack and in the 60th minute the Russians tied out of the seven.
In the end, the home team finished in weakness, receiving a total of 10 two-minute penalties for the match. Trtík’s charges had the last attack at their disposal, but in the end they could still lose. However, the Russians narrowly missed an empty goal in the last seconds.
| Qualification of the European Handball Championship 2022 – 3rd group: |
| Czech Republic – Russia 27:27 (16:14) |
| Squad and goals of the Czech Republic: Mrkva, Galia – Hrstka 5/2, Bečvář 0, Jurka 1, Kašpárek 2, Babák 4, Číp 3, Petrovský 1, Vančo 1, Klíma 4, V. Patzel 4, Solák 1, Užek 1, Piroch, Franc. |
| Most goals of Russia: Kiselev 6/1, Kosorotov 5. Judges: Lah, Sok (both Slovenian). 7-meter throws: 2/2 – 2/1. Exclusion: 10: 4. Red Cross: 60. Climate (Czech Republic). No spectators. |
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