The European Championship sensation didn’t happen on Monday evening in Berlin: Despite a great fight, the Faroe Islands lost 28:32 (15:15) against Poland – and were already out after the preliminary round.
Thanks to the impressive fans: Faroe Islands playmaker Elias Ellefsen and Skipagötu. Sascha Klahn
Maximilian Schmidt reports from Berlin
It could have been a game of honor – apart from the legitimate fight for third place in the preliminary round. But the Faroe Islands (1:3 points) had a small chance of progressing thanks to their sensational 26:26 against Norway. To achieve this, Poland had to be beaten (0:4 points). Their German neighbors had already been eliminated, but wanted to give their fans a win as they farewell to the European Championship.
In contrast to the Norwegians, Poland knew right from the start how to get their tall backcourt players into position to jump over the short Faroe Islands professionals. Backcourt ace Szymon Sicko in particular took advantage of his physical superiority with five goals in the first section.
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But the Faroe Islands still had their 21-year-old folk hero Elias Ellefsen a Skipagötu from THW Kiel, who was also the linchpin for the underdogs in the third European Championship preliminary round game. He scored a total of six goals before the break alone – five of them in a row. Sometimes with a 122 km/h hammer from the backcourt, sometimes with a breakthrough after a fine feint.
The North Macedonian referees wanted to play their role in the first section, as they handed out an unusually high number of time penalties for this European Championship. There were eight in the first 30 minutes alone.
The game remained close and the Poles repeatedly countered the Faroe Islands’ seven-on-six from the backcourt. Nevertheless, Faroe’s first two-goal lead was established at 11:9 – through Füchse left-hander Hakun West av Teigum from seven meters (19th).
Two outnumbered situations within a short space of time brought Poland back, but at the break it was “only” a draw from the Faroe Islands’ perspective. Poland’s goalkeeper Jakub Skrzyniarz certainly played his part in this, keeping his team in the game with eight saves (almost 40 percent catch rate).
West av Teigum scores seven meter after seven meter
After the break, the tight game continued before the break. Sicko remained a factor, and the Poles repeatedly used their physicality cleverly to score goals. With the support of goalkeeper Skrzyniarz, the first two-goal lead was achieved in the 43rd minute, also because the Faroe Islands couldn’t find their defensive rhythm at all (20:22).
However, the Faroe Islands showed their usual fighting spirit from Berlin, with a brilliant goal behind the back, Ellefsen a Skipagötu (nine goals) – later voted “Player of the Match” – equalized at 23:23. Berlin’s West av Teigum was also a huge factor in this phase, converting seven-meter after seven-meter (eight out of eight attempts, ten goals in total). The defensive formation and lack of support from the goal were the big problem this time, after 53 minutes the Fells threatened to swim away from the next two-goal deficit.
And the game actually tipped over to Poland’s side in front of 13,321 spectators in the not entirely sold out Mercedes-Benz Arena. The scoreboard read 32:28 after 60 minutes. The Faroese dream was over.
Poland – Faroe Islands 32:28 (15:15)
Poland: Kornecki, Skrzyniarz (10 Paraden) – Sicko 10/1, Syprzak 9/3, Jedraszczyk 6, Daszek 3, Czaplinski 1, M. Gebala 1, Pietrasik 1, Szyszko 1, Bis, Kosmala, Olejniczak, Paterek, Przytula, Urbaniak
Faroe Islands: Jacobsen (3 Parade), Satchwell (3 Parade) – West av Teigum 10/8, E. Ellefsen a Skipagötu 9, Berg Hansen 2, Mittun 2, Poulsen 2, Horn Rasmussen 1, Hoydal Hildarson 1, Mortensen 1, Gunnarsson Djurhuus, Johansen, Krogh, Mikkelsen, Mikkjalsson, Nordberg
Referee: Andreu Marin Lorente / Ignacio Garcia Serradilla (Spain)
Viewers: 13.321
Penalty minutes: 14 / 10
Disqualification: – / –
2024-01-15 19:01:09
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