January 16, 2020 - The Croatia handball team opened the second round of the European Championship against Austria on Thursday.
The Croatia handball team and Austria met in Vienna on Thursday to open the second round of the Euros. Croatia had the support of Croatian fans in the stands.
Both teams transferred two points to the second round, and with a win, would be one step closer to Sweden and the Euro final.
Austria had the first attack of the match in front of a roaring arena boasting 9,500 spectators. The commentators were confident at least half were Croatian.
After an unsuccessful Austria attack, Horvat missed from seven meters during the first Croatian attack. The game was still 0:0 three minutes in.
However, it was the captain to score the first goal of the game moments later - Duvnjak scored for 1:0.
Mandic increased the lead to 2:1 in the 5th minute, and Cindric scored for 3:1 in the 6th minute. Austria equalized in the 7th for 3:3.
Austria took the lead in the 8th minute thanks to a goal from 7-meters, though Mandic equalized in the 11th for 4:4. Croatia retook the lead thanks to a Horvat goal moments later, and Karacic scored for 6:4 in the 13th minute.
Cindric increased the lead to +3 in the 14th (7:4), and Duvnjak made it 8:4 in the 17th minute. Horvat nailed another shot from 7-meters for 9:5 in the 20th minute, and another in the 21st for 10:5.
Cindric scored in the 25th minute for 11:6, and Stepancic made it 12:7 with two minutes to go before halftime. Cindric scored right before the buzzer for 13:8.
Croatia opened the second half with a Stepancic goal for a +6 advantage in the 30th minute. Horvat scored yet another 7-meter shot for 15:9.
Stepancic scored for 16:11 in the 34th, and Mandic scored for 17:12 in the 36th. The Croatia captain made it 18:13 moments later.
Mandic continued his scoring streak for 19:14, and the two nations had been playing goal-for-goal for most of the second half.
Horvat nutmegged the Austria defense to bring Croatia back to +5, and Stepancic scored for 21:16 in the 42nd.
Cindric was on fire with another goal at 97 km/hour for 22:16, and Duvnjak brought Croatia back to +6 for 23:17 in the 44th. By this point in the game, Croatia had blocked four shots to Austria’s one, while Sego had made 5/17 saves in the game thus far.
A new 7-meter shot for Croatia saw Horvat lob the ball over the keeper for 24:18. Austria reduced their deficit to just four goals in the 51st.
Sipic scored for 25:20 in the 54th, and Duvnjak intercepted the ball for 26:20. With a minute to go, Karacic scored for 27:22. The final score of the game was 28:24 for Croatia.
Luka Stepancic was named the man of the match!
The 'Cowboys' next game is against Germany this Saturday at 8:30 pm.
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