The rollercoaster ride against the Egyptians brought defeat

men’s handball, group stage, 1st round, group B:
Egypt-Hungary 35-32 (19-15)
South Paris Arena 6, v.: Nachevski, Nikolov (North Macedonians)
shots/goals: 51/35 and 46/32
goals from seven meters: 3/2 and 6/5
exhibitions: 4 and 8 minutes respectively

Hungary: Bartucz – Bóka 4, Szita 1, Bánhidi 3, Sipos, Ancsin 3, Lékai 4, substitutions: Imre 7, Fazekas 5, Bodó 4, Ilic 1, Rosta, Palasics, Ligetvári

After the Spanish-Slovenian match, the arena in the sixth hall of the South Paris trade center was full for the second match on Saturday, which means about seven thousand fans. Based on the flags and the volume, the majority were Hungarian fans who, according to the inscriptions, came to the French capital from Püspökladány and Ferencváros.

The Hungarian team started with several mistakes in both defense and attack, so after five minutes they were already 4-1 behind. The defending champion of the African Championship punished almost every missed shot, ball sale, step error, bad pass with a goal, and although the Hungarians caught up to 7-6 thanks to László Bartucz’s saves, the national team captain Chema Rodríguez had to ask for time two minutes later (6-10).

This and the substitutions did not have a significant effect either, because at the end of the 8-1 series, Egypt already had eight hits. In this period, even more surprising than the inaccuracies of the offensive game was the breezy, sometimes disorganized defense. The difference did not increase after the 17th minute, the performance of the Hungarians improved somewhat, thanks to this they caught up 19-15 before the break.

Much better second half

The national team started the second half much more alert and tight, which reduced the deficit to two goals, but still had no counter to the long-range shots of the Egyptians. There were fewer and fewer mistakes, saves came from Kristóf Palasics, and when the African team was only leading 23-22, its national team captain, Juan Carlos Pastor, who managed Szeged for ten years, asked for time. Although they managed to equalize at the end of a 4-0 series, they did not manage to take the lead because the opponent’s game became more accurate and efficient again.

Gergő Fazekas played well (Photo: MKSZ/Anikó Kovács)

Chema Rodríguez tried a two-way game, but in the 56th minute there were four between them again (28-32). Bencé Bánhidi managed to get back up again, the last minute started with a score of 33-32, but even then the opponent proved to be more accurate, and since he was never at a disadvantage in the whole match, he deservedly won.

László Bartucz finished with five saves, Kristóf Palasics six, on the other side Karim Hendavi three and Mohamed Ali six. The Hungarians had 12 turnovers in the meeting. In the 19th match between the two teams, after 15 Hungarian successes and three draws, this was the first Egyptian success in regular time.