Euphoria in the Brno hall after the final whistle of the Serbian referees: Czech Republic have beaten France! The crowded hall celebrated an important 32:29 (13:11) victory over the Olympic gold medalist team.
France played with their strongest team including Nikola Karabatić, though he was evidently suffering from an elbow injury. Petr Štochl started in the Czech goal, in front of him there was a big defence with Jícha, Horák and Hynek in the middle.
This good defence and the goalkeeper was the main weapon of coach Martin Lipták. In spite of this, the French were leading 8:10 in the 24th minute of the game when coach Lipták took a time-out. The Czechs missed scoring opportunities in these minutes.
The pause helped the team and it took two minutes for them to equalise with goals from Horák and Filip. In last minutes the Czechs turned it around and went into the break 13:11.
The lead changed hands in the second half on more occasions. French line player, Cedric Sorhaindo, was able to score from virtually any position.
Nikola Karabatić was suspended for two minutes when Jan Filip scored twice and gave the hosts the lead back. Both teams changed goalkeepers: Martin Galia and Daouda Karaboue came on.
The very end of the game was dramatic and the Czech team could celebrate. Though Thierry Omeyer came back for the last three minutes, neither Kiel star could save France from a 32:29 defeat.
“We knew that we can rely on our great supporters in Brno who helped us also at previous qualification games here against Portugal and Serbia. They were brilliant,” said the goalkeeper Petr Štochl.
“The basis of our victory was the good defense that put pressure on the French players,” said the best scorer Filip Jícha. “Moreover, we were more successful with our shots.”
“We proved our quality today,” said a happy coach, Martin Lipták. “Good defence, enthusiastic playing, great atmosphere – this all contributed to our victory. The French team missed some players, but I think that our victory was deserved.”
Stats
Czech Republic: Štochl, Galia – Jícha 9, Zdráhala 7, Filip 7, Horák 5, Nocar 3, Kubeš 1, Lehocký, Číp, Hynek, Říha, Szymanski, Mráz
France: Karaboue, Omeyer – Sorhaindo 6, Ostertag 5, Fernandez 1, Dinart, Narcisse 3, Karabatic 1, Kempe 2, Roine 1, Abalo 4, Gigou 3, Bouquet 2, Paty 1
spectators: 2 200
7m throw: 0 – 3/1
suspensions: 2 – 2,
