GB swept
Albania aside 42-15 in their placement quarter-final at the Emerging Nations
Championship in Bulgaria.
Despite a slow start, the result never looked in doubt. GB eased into a 3-1 lead, but were pulled-back to 3-3 before hitting Albania with a 6-0 run to go 9-3 up. GB’s open defence proved a huge problem for their opponents and as the half progressed, the lead steadily grew. At half-time GB were leading 19-8.
The second-half followed the same pattern and at 45 minutes GB were 29-15 ahead. Albania would not score again as GB’s defence shut-up shop and hit them with a string of fast-breaks. 13 unanswered goals saw GB cruise to a 42-15 win and a place in the placement semi-final.
The only sour note were injuries to Ryan Goodwin, who missed much of the match, and David Klaening. Both are now battling to be fit for the next match.
Stefan Whaley top-scored for GB with an impressive 8 from 9 shots. Brian Linsday scored six, while Tomeu Popez and team captain Mark Hawkins added five each. In goal Alex Bradley managed a 48% save-rate.
GB
next play Moldova in the placement semi-final at 2pm (UK time) Saturday.
(Photo credit: Bulgarian Handball Federation)
