Quinas de Ouro gained two more points in the fourth round thanks to the valuable help of the public who visited the Sports and Congress Center for a great night of handball.
7 Initials: Isabel Gois, Carolina Monteiro, Joana Rezende, Patricia Lima, Beatriz Souza, Neide Duarte, Nadia Rodriguez
More than 2,000 spectators gathered at the Matosinhos Congress and Sports Center for one of the most memorable nationally supported matches. Portugal were motivated ahead of this match after their win against Finland and carried the lessons learned into their EHF Euro 2024 fourth qualifying round match against the Nordics.
Portugal's dreams remained intact at the start of the game, allowing Jose Antonio Silva's side to cement their place in the long-awaited qualification spot that had eluded them since 2008.
In the minutes before the meeting, there was time to pay tribute to the two Portuguese players who have said goodbye to the national team, Sandra Santiago and María Pereira. They were joined by Miguel Laranjeiro, president of the Portuguese Handball Federation, and vice presidents Juliana Sousa and Augusto Silva, in a hearty round of applause.
The match started without further delay, with Matilde Rosa and Carmen Figueiredo not being an option this afternoon, but Joana Rezende scored the first goal, but in the end Finland hit back, but Portugal He was aggressive from the start and quickly scored a goal. 3-1. Despite the attempt, Isabel Gois was unwavering between the posts and maintained Quinas' lead.
Despite several goalless minutes, Beatriz Sousa finally unleashed an attack, reaching 5-2 and allowing Thomas Mecklin to score his first goal. timeout, hopes to reverse the flow of the conference. After the technical break, Lusas performed at his best and maintained the momentum with another goal, this time from central defender Patricia Lima.
Ten minutes into the match, Finland showed some signs of recovery and once again brought the game within three points (9-6), but thanks to the cohesiveness and effective defense of Jose's team Antonio Silva, Portugal He took the lead again. Take advantage of quick transitions. Lusas was able to score six goals, doubling the lead, and received continued support from the public.
At the start of the last 10 minutes of the first half, Isabel Gois opened the curtain, much to the delight of the fans who visited the Matosinhos Sports and Congress Center this evening, and Quinas kept the pace until the end, closing in on a 10-goal difference that gathered at the lockers. room.
interval: 21-11
The second half started with both teams scoring one point each and neither team could find the back of the net for several minutes, but in the end the Nordic team narrowed the gap to nine points. However, Mariana Lopez accompanied by Patricia Rodriguez brought the game back to double digits (11 points) after 40 minutes.
The arrival of Jessica Ferreira changed Portugal's goals and Portugal won without much resistance, reaching a 15-goal difference (31-16).
In the final stages of the match, Lusas maintained his momentum and gradually widened his lead, improving his offensive ability compared to last Thursday's match against the same opponent. Portugal thus added an important victory to their aspirations and finished the match to the applause of their fans.
In terms of results, the top two third-placed teams in all groups will advance to the next stage, but tonight's result between the Netherlands and the Czech Republic means the Portuguese can dream of second place, with only a turnaround. Dew. In the match against the Czech Republic, there was a 5-goal difference.
Final result: 38-22MVP: Isabel Gois – 9 saves (43% effectiveness)Top scorer: Patricia Rodriguez – 8 goals (100% effectiveness)
National coach Jose Antonio Silva was very satisfied with the result of this match and emphasized the fight for second place in Group 3. “We made sure to say that from the very beginning because we assumed from the beginning that we had two games to win and that we were the favorites. It was an unbalanced game. But there was a lot of credit to our players. Usually when you win by a big margin, the value tends to drop a little bit, but I think this result was fundamentally because we played very well today. This team is very dedicated and takes their job seriously. So they can't do better because it's completely impossible, and it was a great match for them. We are fighting for a spot. If we can reach second place, I believe it is within our reach and we will try. If it's 3rd place, that's fine, but I'm going to fight for 2nd place. I think our opponents are favorites, but we have a case and we're going to put them on the field. ”
Source: Portuguese Handball Federation
