Germany have played to a hard-fought draw against Macedonia in their final Group C match at the European Handball Championship in Croatia. They now move on to the main round, which begins on Friday.A final push by the Germans to win the match in the dying seconds of Wednesday night’s game against Macedonia in Zagreb came up short, as the “Bad Boys” played to a 25-25 draw against one of the surprise teams of the tournament.
It could easily have been worse had German goalkeeper Silvio Heinevetter not pulled off a sensational save seconds earlier, on a shot that could well have given Macedonia the win.
“An amazing save by Heinevetter,” German right back Patrick Groetzki said afterwards.
Immediately after that save German coach Christian Prokop called a timeout and drew up a plan he hoped would get one of his forwards a clear shot on goal. A Macedonian foul gave Germany a free throw with no time left on the clock, but it was easily blocked.
“I’m not feeling great,” Prokop said moments later. “We had the chance to win it but were too undisciplined on the last play.”
Goalkeeping certainly wasn’t Germany’s problem on the night, as the starter, Andreas Wolff kept the Bad Boys in the game in the early stages of the first half, when the defenders in front of him struggled to contain the Macedonian attackers. Their problem was more at the other end of the court, where Germany’s attackers often seemed to lack creativity as they sought to break down the Macedonian defense.
Wedenesday’s result meant that Macedonia advanced as winners of the group, taking three points into Group II. Germany, who played the Slovenians to a 25-25 draw on Monday night, advanced as the second-placed team in preliminary Group C, and take two points into Group II.
In Wednesday’s late game in Zagreb, Slovenia beat Montenegro 28-19 to advance as the third-place finisher, but they take just one point into Group II, which will also feature former world champions Spain, Olympic champions Denmark, and the Czech Republic.
Germany are aiming to defend the European title that they won in Poland in 2016.
