SummaryThat’s another entry. The handball men start the European Championship with a sensational victory against host country Hungary (28-31). This is how you silence a huge arena.
Herman Nijman
Latest update:
01:49
Of course there is no athlete who calls for a championship that he has no chance. Or that he has no business in the strong field of participants. The handball men saw plenty of opportunities for their European Championship in Budapest, of course. ,,If we have a good day, we can beat Hungary, Iceland and Portugal,” said national coach Erlingur Richardsson. ,,But it is also a privilege for us that we can play this European Championship. And then also in this immense hall.”
The brand new MVM Dome in Budapest, halfway between the center and the airport, is therefore something special. One of the largest indoor arenas in Europe with 20,000 seats. Where the home country, fifth at the last World Cup, is under immense pressure and the Orange in principle has nothing to lose. In all the previews, the Netherlands is ranked 23rd out of 24 participants, somewhere close to Lithuania.
The Netherlands is a hottie in the international handball world, the qualification for the previous European Championship was even a real sensation. Now Richardsson and his men want to survive the first phase and force a place among the top 12 nations. But at whose expense? The enemies all have their qualities, they all belong to the European sub-top.
Huge bathtub
Orange gets that huge bathtub quiet anyway. Thanks to keepers Bart Ravensbergen and Dennis Schellekens, who both parry a penalty from Dominik Máthé. But especially thanks to the national royal couple: Luc Steins and Kay Smits. They are not big but they are fast, switch quickly and play frivolously. Just before half time, Smits scores with a kite – so it floats through the circle – on the instructions of director Steins. Because the Netherlands takes advantage of the mistakes of the opponent, there is quickly a lead on the board. Whatever the Hungarians try, they won’t be able to clear the backlog.
In the second half, the Netherlands has an extra scoring player with Dani Baijens. Besides especially Smits (11 hits), absolutely the man of the match.
Orange has to endure something. A red card for corner player Rutger ten Velde, a blow to the head of Baijens. But Richardsson’s men keep getting up, ready for the next fight. Smaller than the Hungarian bears, but brave. All in all, Hungary comes next to the challenger (28-28). But before the scoreboard is updated, Jeffrey Boomhouwer scores on the other side and the pressure is back on the favorite.
In the two minutes that remain, the Netherlands can complete the sensation, the Hungarians succumb to the pressure. Samir Benghanem and Baijens decide the match on a unique evening for Dutch men’s handball.
Comments
,,This is the biggest win ever in the history of Dutch men’s handball.” That realization clearly dawned on national team coach Erlingur Richardsson, who was not even surprised by the team’s performance. He was pleasantly surprised by the maturity and cleverness of the team. There was never any panic or unrest once Hungary had started the catch-up race. ,,We are winning here against one of the strongest European countries. In the first half, our coverage was good, when it got a bit less, we were still standing.”
,,I hope it will stir things up in the Netherlands”, captain Bobby Schagen reacted. “We were ahead from the start. Have survived difficult situations, such as two minutes with two players less. We stayed cool, and then you get this. This is obviously a great start to the tournament for us.”
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