Volleyball
Austria’s men’s national team suffered a major setback at the European Championship qualifying tournament in Hadera in Isarael. Instead of winning a mandatory victory, the ÖVV selection lost the second duel with Israel 2: 3 on Friday.
15.01.2021 19.26
January 15, 2021, 7:26 p.m.
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The hosts managed to take revenge for the 0: 3 in the first meeting of the two teams on Tuesday. The Austrians went as losers for the second time in a row after the 1: 3 against Pool B favorite Bulgaria.
“A very bitter defeat. The team couldn’t play as consistently as in the first two games, ”said ÖVV sports director Gottfried Rath-Zobernig. ÖVV President Gernot Leitner added: “Israel had nothing more to lose. Our team started to be too tense and could never get rid of it. “
Austria is subject to Israel
Austria’s national team suffered a major setback at the European Championship qualification tournament in Israel. The team has to admit defeat to the hosts in five sets.
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“Too many mistakes in total”
After a disappointing performance in the first set you could hit back immediately, but in the third set three set balls blocked were too few to take the lead. After winning the fourth round, you couldn’t take the momentum with you.
33 points from top scorer Alexander Berger and 26 points from Niklas Kronthaler didn’t change the defeat. “Overall, there were too many mistakes. We didn’t win the light balls either, ”said team boss Radovan Gacic.
Austria holds four points after three games, the Bulgarians are two points missing, the Israelis are bottom with two points. Finally, Captain Peter Wohlfahrtstätter and Co. will again face the Bulgarians on Saturday (7:55 p.m., live on ORF Sport +). Victory is a must for the Austrians in order to preserve the significantly reduced chances of getting an EM ticket.
Fixed ticket for group winners
The group winner secures a fixed ticket for the finals in late summer in four countries. In addition, the five best runners-up will also advance, but you can only be certain about this after the qualification phase has ended in May. Realistically, four points will not be enough. “Now I hope that the team boss can set the boys up for Bulgaria, that we can play more easily and get points,” said Leitner.
The players have not yet written off the EM ticket. “We saw on Wednesday that we could play with Bulgaria. Now we have to make amends, ”demanded Kronthaler. It is clear that this requires a large increase. Gacic is also aware of this: “We have to try everything tomorrow, down to the last point.”
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