Serbia arrived in round 3 hungry for a win, after two consecutive losses against Montenegro and Czechia. With slim chances to progress to the main round, Uros Bregar’s squad knew they had to put on their best performance on the court on Tuesday. Everything went according to the plan, until Romania showed off impressive mental strength and took control of the game.
GROUP B
Serbia vs Romania 25:27 (16:13)
- the beginning of the game saw the two sides on the same level, until Serbia started to distance themselves in the 12th minute and reached a four-goal lead (11:7)
- Romania’s response came between the posts, where Daciana Hosu replaced Bianca Curment and immediately stopped two shots; however, the Serbians kept on building on their momentum and went into the half-time break three goals ahead
- the battle heated up in the second half and took off with three players receiving suspensions in the first five minutes; powered by Andjela Janjusevic in attack, the Serbians maintained a safe distance until the 44th minute, when Sonia Seraficeanu scored to reset the game at 22:22
- centre back Andreea Popa netted for the second time in the match to help Romania retake the lead at 23:22, the first time after 1:0 in the opening minutes
- Angela Stoica scored five goals for her team and was named Player of the Match, presented by Grundfos; Andjela Janjusevic was the top scorer on the Serbian side with seven successful shots
Another impressive comeback leaves Serbia disappointed
All eyes were on Romania on Tuesday, as they have had a thrilling journey in the Women’s EHF EURO 2024 so far. They stunned with a victory over Czechia in the opening round, but a loss against Montenegro left Florentin Pera’s squad a bit shaken.
History has a tendency to repeat itself, so in the second half Romania turned the match in their favour, partly thanks to Angela Stoica and Sonia Seraficeanu, who led the Romanian attack with five goals each. The same happened in round 1, when they managed to secure a one-goal win in crunch time.
We were close to the victory, but in the end, in the last 15 minutes, we didn't find a way to the goal. Also, it was a lot of two-minute suspensions and we really lost the rhythm. And I think that it was easier to score for Romania and they deserved the victory in the end.
I’m still amazed, I'm still shocked. We were fighting a lot and unfortunately we didn't start so good, but as you know, our speciality is to come back every time.
