Edinburgh City Korfball Club – Vardananq 18 – 9 (8-2)
The Armenians lost track of time and started the play off for places 5 and 6 with insufficient preparation. They only scored two during the first half, the second one during the sound of the buzzer indicating the end of the playing time! On many occasions however attacks were interrupted by buzzers of the shot clock. Although the Scottish team, much more experienced, strolled towards an easy victory, in the second half Vardananq scored 7 goals enabling some hope for the other confrontation later on.
State University-HSS – UKK WUM Warszawa 13 – 14 (6-7)
First IKF ECup first round semi final of the day!
Russians, somewhat too self-confident, created many scoring opportunities but missed many. Warszawa, not in the strongest composition, seized the opportunity and had the lead which they kept till half time.
Same scenario after tea. Strong defense from both teams kept the score low and with 10′ to go the Russians, after having been able to take the lead for the first time, were unable to create a gap. With only 4′ to go the play became more rough and the referee had to watch close combats. Many spectators now, present for the match of the home team later on, witnessed a thrilling match end with a small margin in favour of Warszawa thanks to more successful shooting.
Szentendrei KC – SKK Dolphins Prievidza 11 – 6 (5-1)
Szentendrei, clearly the favourite, had to struggle for a long time to create a gap. Uncontrolled infringements and bad shooting from Slovakian attackers gave many opportunities to the opponents but only few came to a good result. The low score at half time was not much appreciated by the crowd that hoped for more later on.
Not much difference however in the second half. Many substitutions could not influence the playing level of both teams resulting in a low score. The more experienced Hungarian players (Veres, Horvath) took advantage of the slow pace and created the final difference in score.
Vardananq – Edinburgh City Korfball Club 6 – 15 (3-5)
In the second match the tempo was much slower with a relevant score. Playing 4 matches over two days may be inconveniant but then again especially Vardananq has not many opportunities to compete with other teams.
Unfortunately a Scottish girl got injured just before the end of the match. The fifth place of Edinburgh however was never at stake.
HSS State University – SKK Dolphins Prievidza 21 – 14 (10 – 7)
The winner of this match would qualify for the IKF Europa Cup final round in the same venue in January 2016.
The teams already played each other the day before. Only now the Dolphins gave much more pression on the Russian attackers and it remained difficult to predict the outcome at half time.
The Slovakian enthusiasm was countered by slow motion Russian attacks. Physical effort against technical superiority, the spectators had a difficult choice.
The final score does not reflect the tensity of this match. State University earned the victory all right but the Dolphins are to be congratulated for giving a hard time to the opponents.
UKK WUM Warszawa – Szentendrei KC 7 – 16 (3 – 4)
The clash of the titans!
This match was not only about the winner of the IKF ECup first round. Also the draw in the pools to avoid the higher ranked teams from Europe for the final round was an issue.
Warszawa obviously was the underdog due to the home public, the result of the day before and the efforts that were paid to beat the Russian participant. Almost equal in strength, this fact also was shown on the scoreboard. Inadequate preparation of the rebound on both sides resulted in one-shot attacks.
Some tactical changes and substitutions led to a 3-7 score and minutes later to 5 – 11. Szentendrei now was the much better team and celebration of victory was only a matter of time!
Not many would have expected the Hungarian team to end as the winner of their own tournament. After the final match no one could question the legacy of this performance.
