The Olympic tournament is long, and one should not draw hasty conclusions. Still, based on the premiere, it can be concluded that the Danish handball men will be difficult to catch up with in Paris.
On Saturday evening, Denmark kicked off the group stage with a superior 37-29 victory over France in a repeat of the last two summer games finals. In front of a highly fired-up audience in absolute top party gear, the French got off to a roaring start, but terrific back performances by Mathias Gidsel and Simon Pytlick ensured a perfect Danish start. The two scored 22 goals together.
Both teams still need to play four games in the group, from which four of six teams advance to the quarter-finals.
Emil Nielsen was one of the keys to Denmark reaching the final at the EC in January, and he also got the starting place in the Danish goal in the premiere. He didn’t get away with that very well. The balls flew into the ears of the Barcelona keeper, and after a quarter of an hour he was replaced by Niklas Landin.
The Danish standard-bearer from Friday’s opening ceremony immediately showed class by saving an attempt from winger Valentin Porte. But the French generally found it easy to shoot through the defense and led a transition with four goals before Denmark stamped on.
The scores came constantly from Pytlick and Gidsel, who throughout the game hurt the French, and in his last tournament in his career, Mikkel Hansen proved himself sharp as always on free throws. At the same time, Landin began to fuel confidence with a couple of big saves that helped Denmark put themselves in front for the first time.
With two minutes to the break, Thomas Arnoldsen scored from a difficult angle to make it 18-16, but the French were sent to the dressing room with a final cheer after a free throw.
The bouncy French fans literally rocked the stands at the South Paris Arena 6, but came down to earth a bit when play resumed. Pytlick and Gidsel continued the great play from the first half, and the Danes scored a couple of times in an empty net when the French took the keeper out when they were outnumbered. In a short time, the Danes made it 21-17 and generally seemed to have the advantage on the pitch.
Every time France got the momentum of an equaliser, Denmark subtracted. Mikkel Hansen extended the score to 28-25 with his fifth penalty in five attempts, and when Pytlick hammered the ball into the corner shortly after, the lead was four goals with ten minutes remaining. The knockout blow came seven minutes before time, when Magnus Saugstrup increased the lead to six goals with a counter goal.
Denmark won the first match, but a rematch may well wait later in the tournament. By that time, France must have found a better answer to the duo Gidsel and Pytlick.
This is how the match went:
Source: politiken.dk
