Placement Round 9th - 16th – Palace of Culture and
Sport, Veliko Tarnovo
Ireland – Malta 31:22 (15:9)
Ireland continues the battle for 9th place
The Irish team continues the battle for the 9th place of the IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship
after defeating Malta in 31:22 (15:9) in Veliko Tarnovo.
The Irish came to the game almost all of the time, having a comfortable lead of 6 goals - 15:9. In the
second part, the Maltese tried to return to the match and shortened their abandonment to only 3 goals
at 16:19. The Irish have again made a serious lead in winning the game with 31:22
In their next match tomorrow at 14:00 in Veliko Tarnovo the Irish will meet the team of Azerbaijan.
Malta will also play against Armenia from 18:00 in the PCS "Vasil Levski".
Roman Abramenko, head coach of Ireland: "We respect a lot of Malta, this is a great team. I am very
proud and happy with our victory today. Maybe we were lucky. Our next match will be against
Azerbaijan. We do not know them, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank Turkey and Kosovo
for the lessons we have received in the group stage. As you can see, we are now a totally different team,
we are much more mature and ready to face each team".
Colm Thiel, left back of Ireland: "Great victory for us. We wanted to win, because in November we lost
twice from Malta and our goal was to win this match for Ireland and I'm glad we did. We continue to
play match, fight against everyone and try to beat everyone".
Joseph Attard, head coach of Malta: "It's been many years since Ireland beat us, but they had a very
good attitude to the match and that made the difference. Our players probably thought we were still in
the month of November and would win Ireland easily. That was our big mistake. We will now play
against Armenia, but the most important thing in this game will be to show what we are capable of".
Daniel Tanti, goalkeeper of Malta: "We did a very poor match. Our goal was to finish between 9th and
12th, but we lost heavily. We have been defeating Ireland in the last 3-4 games, so the loss was severe
today. Now we have to beat Armenia in the matches afterwards".
Great Britain – Albania 42:15 (19:6)
Great Britain has defeated Albania
Great Britain continues the fight for the 9th place in IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship. The
British beat Albania with 42:15 in Veliko Tarnovo and in the next phase of the tournament they will face
Moldova.
The duel in the PCS "Vasil Levski" was only equal in the first ten minutes when playing a goal by goal.
With a score of 3:3, however, the British made a series of six consecutive goals, and by the break, the
lead was already 11 - 19:8. In the second part, the boys from Great Britain continued to play very stable
in defense and effectively in attack to confirm their success.
The match between Great Britain and Moldova will be tomorrow at 16:00 in Veliko Tarnovo and Albania
continues the fight for places from 13th to 16th with match against Armenia in 20:00.
Placement Round 9th - 16th – Orlovetz Sports Hall,
Gabrovo
Azerbaijan – Armenia 39:21 (21:7)
Azerbaijan defeated Armenia and continues ahead
Azerbaijan's team without any problems defeated Armenia with 39:21 (21:7) in a quiet game played in
"Orlovetz Sports Hall" in Gabrovo.
After success Azerbaijan continues the fight for places from 9th to 12th, where they will argue against
Ireland, which overtakes Malta with 31:22. The Armenians will play for 13/16th place against Malta.
For the most valuable player from Azerbaijan was announced Maxim Butenko, who finished with 10
goals for the victory. For Armenia the best player was Sahakyan Rafik, who made 5 hits.
Hikmet Abdullayev, head coach of Azerbaijan: "Good match for our team. We played at a high level, and
we made it easy for us to make the last signal".
Maxim Buttenko, right back and capitan of Azerbaijan: "I congratulate Armenia for the fair play. We did
not underestimate them and deservedly won".
Barseghyan Ararat, head coach of Armenia: "There was no tension. We played as much as we could.
Azerbaijan are a good team and we are a young team that is still developing".
Moldova – Andorra 48:14 (24:6)
Moldova continues for 9th place after win over Andorra
Moldova's team will continue to argue for the 9th place at the IHF Men's Emerging Nations
Championship after defeating оutsider Andorra 48:14 (24:6) in a match without an intrigue played in
"Orlovetz Sports Hall" in Gabrovo. The Moldovans have not encountered any problems against Andorra
and have won strongly.
Moldova will continue to play for divisions from 9th to 12th and will argue with Great Britain, which
overwhelmed Albania by 42:15. Andorra's team will play against the Albanians in the 13th/16th place.
The matches are tomorrow (17 June) from 16.00 and 20.00 at the PCS "Vasil Levski" in Veliko Tarnovo.
The most valuable player from Moldova was named Dinu Untu, who scored 12 goals. Andorra's best was
Joan Travesset with 3 hits.
Nicolae Vizitiu, head coach of Moldova: "We did a good match and we achieved a good result. We made
some mistakes, but we still played well".
David Aguilar, head coach of Andorra: "Very tough match. We started well, but then we relaxed.
Moldova's team is very strong, very fast in counterattack. We have tried to be competitive and we will
try to be such and against Albania tomorrow".
Quarter Finals – Palace of Culture and Sport, Veliko
Tarnovo
Turkey – Georgia 32:26 (16:15)
Turkey on semi final after a solid battle with Georgia
Turkey qualified for the semi finals at the IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship after a win with
32:26 over Georgia. The two teams played a great match in the PCS "Vasil Levski" in Veliko Tarnovo and
the experience of the Turks at the key moments proved decisive.
The first half was very equal, playing a goal for a goal like Turkey still he was on the half-time with a null
advance - 16:15. In the second part the quality of the game is not dropped and Georgia's young handball
players had the strength to turn the score to 22:21 for their benefit. But then Turkey made a series of 7
consecutive goals, at the base of which was the big star of the team, Ramadan Done, who finished with
15 goals.
Turkey qualified for the next phase and tomorrow at 18.00 in Gabrovo will playing against Cyprus.
Georgia continues the battle for places from 5th to 8th with a match against China.
Ilker Senturk, head coach of Turkey: "First I want to congratulate the team of Georgia for this very
interesting match. Both teams tried to play a good handball. We said it before, we think match play. This
was a big step forward and we are now thinking about Cyprus. We showed today that we have a very
good and quality team. All boys play in our first division and proud of them".
Bekari Orjonikidze, head coach of Georgia: "It was a very nice and interesting match. Unfortunately, they
had more experience. They were much more experienced than us. They took advantage of our mistakes.
I'm happy with the guys, it was a very tough game. We had many nice moments, we saw a big handball,
which is very important for our development".
Teimuraz Orjonikidze, left back of Georgia: "We did everything we could to win, but we are a young
team, we retreated physically to Turkey. We do not know our next rival China. They are a new team for
us, but we will do our best to win".
Luxembourg – Kosovo 23:34 (10:16)
Kosovo to semi-final after win over Luxembourg
The team of Kosovo will play semifinal at the IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship after defeating
Luxembourg by 34:23.
The Kosovars did a great match and with a great game in defense and attack did not give much
opportunity to the hard team of Luxembourg. The Blues in this game played the match with a great
desire and a short, fight for every ball and still to the half-time seemed to have decided things - 16:10. In
the second half, Kosovo controlled things on the pitch, did not let go and convincingly continued in the
next phase. There, Kosovo will play against the champion of the last edition from the Faroe Islands.
Luxembourg will play against Bulgaria at the bottom of the scheme - to allocate places from 5th to 8th.
Adrian Stot, head coach of Luxembourg: "We started this game very badly, especially in an assault. We
were unable to develop our game. There were no passes, combos. They managed to stop us, they were
very motivated for this game, maybe more of us. Tomorrow we play against Bulgaria, a match like the
rest. I hope to introduce ourselves well".
Taip Ramadani, head coach of Kosovo: "We were very well prepared for this match. We have been
following Luxembourg over the past two or three months, because we had predicted that we could meet
them at this stage. The boys battled, consumed a lot of energy, and were as concentrated as possible. I
am very pleased with our performance. I know the Faroe Islands well, we played against them two years
ago in this tournament. A strong team is fast and disciplined. It will be a nice game".
Enis Kabashi, left back of Kosovo: "It was not easy. We have a good team, but so is Luxembourg. We
were very well prepared. They won their first three games, but we knew what to expect. The important
thing was that from the first to the 60th minute we played at a good level and our game did not even
drop for a moment. We know the team of Faroe Islands, we are up for battle and I hope to get it".
Quarter Finals – Orlovetz Sports Hall, Gabrovo
Cyprus – China 36:26 (16:9)
Cyprus in the semifinals after a convincing victory over China
Cypriot team qualifies for the semi finals at the IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship after having
overcome China with a convincing 36:26 (16:9). The Cypriots started strong and drew from the start in
the score. Gradually, the difference increased to 16:9 on the half-time. At the beginning of the second
part, China managed to break its lagging to just 4 goals, but then the handball players of Cyprus
reintroduced their game and won with 36:26.
Thus, Cyprus has managed to qualify for the semi finals of the tournament, where it will argue for a
place in the big final against Turkey, who beat Georgia with 32:26 in the ¼-final in Veliko Tarnovo. China
will continue the fight for the 5th to 8th place, playing against the Georgians. The semifinal meeting
between Cyprus and Turkey is tomorrow (17 June) at 18.00 in Gabrovo and the match between China
and Georgia is at 14.00.
For the most valuable player of the Cyprus team was chosen goalkeeper Christophoros Nungovitsc, but
Kyriakos Georgiou was best scorer with 7 goals. For China for MVP was named Ang Wei, who scored 6
goals, but Zhen Liu has scored 7 goals.
Apostolos Michail, head coach of Cyprus: "Our ranking in the semifinals is the biggest success in the
history of Cypriot handball. I am very excited and incredibly happy. The guys played disciplined and did
not make any serious mistakes. I congratulate my team as well as China's team for their sporting
behavior".
Qiao Chen, head coach of China: "In the first part, we were scared and we entered the game hard. In the
second half we stabilized our game, but we were unable to narrow the gap".
Faroe Islands – Bulgaria 30:24 (13:14)
Bulgaria retreated to the tough Faroe Islands in the 1/4-final at the IHF Men's Emerging Nations
Championship
The team of Bulgaria retreated to the Faroe Islands with 24:30 (14:13) in a match from the ¼-finals at
the IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship, played tonight at "Orlovetz Sports Hall" in Gabrovo. In
the first half the Bulgarians started very excitedly and strongly against the tough players of the Faroe
Islands, even withdrawing at half time with one goal advance - 14:13. At the beginning of the second
part, the boys of the coach Georgi Andreev made many mistakes in defense and showed nervousness in
the game, allowing the Faroe Islands to turn and lead to the middle with 8 goals - 23:15. Eventually
Bulgaria lost at 24:30.
In this way, Bulgaria will continue the fight for the distribution of places between 5th and 8th, where it
will argue with the team of Luxembourg, which lost to the quarter finals from Kosovo with 23:34. The
Faroe Islands will play in the semifinals against the Kosovars. The two matches are tomorrow (17 June)
from 16.00 and 20.00 in Gabrovo.
Dhoskun Yakubov, who finished with 6 goals, was chosen as the most valuable player from Bulgarian
team. For the Faroe Islands the best player was Hans Elli Sigurbjornsson, who scored 11 goals.
Top scorers for Bulgaria: Nikolay Neychev 2, Tanser Yunsu 3, Georgi Atanasov 3, Zlatan Petrov 1, Svetlin
Dimitrov 4, Branimir Balchev 5, Dhoskun Yakubov 6
Head coach: Georgi Andreev.
Georgi Andreev, head coach of Bulgaria: "We have missed many clean positions. The Faroe Islands
goalkeeper made a very strong match. The decisive moment was at the beginning of the second half
when they picked up the pace and held it to the end".
Ari Rouch, head coach of Faroe Islands: "An interesting match. We started badly, but after the
conversation in the dressing room, the boys did very well. We stabilized and played a very strong second
half".