The men’s handball tournament at the European Universities Games in Rijeka finished yesterday as the University of Niš won against the University of Cologne 38:35, while VERN’ failed to come back from behind, losing the medal by a single goal.
The handball final was marked by very efficient play from the University of Cologne and the University of Niš. There were many goals in the first half, and the teams went on a break with 20:16 for Niš. The goalkeepers’ bad day continued in the second half as both conceded plenty of goals, but the Germans did not have enough strength to turn the game around, and Niš secured the gold with the score 38:35.
The shooting contest between Benjamin Richter and Nemanja Živković was won by the German, who scored 15 goals, while the player of the winning team scored 11.
The home team from Zagreb, VERN’, and last year’s champions from Braga, the University of Minho, played the third place match. The VERN team had the chance to win the first medal for their University, but they faced the well-organized team from Portugal.
It was clear that the game would be exciting after the first half: Minho were in the lead by only two goals and the score was 12:10 after the half time whistle. However, VERN’ pulled themselves from behind and the match ended 29:29, which meant that extra time would be played for the first time at the tournament. At one point it seemed that Minho had lost it all, tagging 3 goals behind, but the Portuguese created a spectacular comeback in the second overtime, winning 36:35.
Miguel Pereira and Vasco Arieas were the best among the bronze team, scoring nine goals each, while Kevin Lind scored twelve goals for VERN’.
Results
