Big wins and first defeats as W19 EHF EURO main round starts

France and Germany were both dominant in their victories against Croatia and Serbia respectively to remain unbeaten in the competition so far, but Czechia's winning run came to an end against Denmark. 

• France's 33:13 win against Croatia was their biggest margin of the W19 EHF EURO and they held their opposition to just five goals in the first 30 minutes, as Croatia missed 72 per cent of their shots
• Serbia trailed Germany by only two goals after the first half (16:18) but a 6:0 run near the start of the second period proved decisive for Germany, who now lead main round group H after their 40:24 win
• 14 saves by goalkeeper Andrea Nørklit helped Denmark to a 26:20 victory against Czechia - the Czechs' first defeat of the tournament
• hosts Montenegro led by a single goal at the break against Hungary, but let a five-goal advantage in the second half slip from their grasps and lost 22:24 in the end
• Martina Maticevic (nine goals) and Lorena Baljak (eight) led Austria to a comprehensive 35:27 victory against Norway. The match was close for 45 minutes before Austria took control
• the intermediate round also started on Monday; the Faroe Islands and the Netherlands both claimed their first wins of the tournament, defeating Finland 32:25 and Portugal 31:19 respectively

Sweden survive Spanish comeback

Sweden had to deploy all of their impressive attacking abilities to hold off Spain in a thriller in Podgorica. A very even first 20 minutes gave way to a 6:0 run for Sweden to give them a seven-goal lead with five minutes of the first half to play, only for Spain to answer with three goals to make it 17:13 at the break.

Returning from the dressing rooms, Spain — led by an impressive showing from right back Estitxu Rodriguez, who ended the game with seven goals from 11 shots — fought back. A seven-metre penalty scored by Rosane Serrano in the 42nd minute took Spain level at 20:20. With technical errors and disciplinary faults piling up on the Swedish side, Spain were able to take the lead at 24:23 with 11 minutes to play, and extend that to 26:24 when Serrano scored their fifth penalty in the 54th minute. 

However, Sweden were not ready to let the match finish like that. Three unanswered shots got them back in front, and when Spanish left back Belen Rodriguez missed her last attempt with 29 seconds on the clock, the Swedes could celebrate a 27:26 victory and their first main round points. Left back Ebba Börjesson was their top scorer with five goals, but another eight players contributed at least two to the Swedish victory.  

Spain, who carried a point from the preliminary round to the main round, now meet Serbia while Sweden play Germany in what could be two crucial games in the hunt for the quarter-finals.

Photos © Rukometni savez Crne Gore; Vuk Raicevic