Women's Handball Euro: who were confident, have become insecure too – Golovin

– Why were we so stuck at the beginning?
– The girls prepared for this game a lot; we talked about everything in the dressing room, what we had to do to win, and then when we missed an opportunity or two, we were doubtful – Vladimir Golovin told Nemzeti Sport. – Croatia slowed the game down nicely, so we couldn't score any easy goals. We were down emotionally in the first half, but the poor use of opportunities sealed our fate as it is impossible to win a game with just eighteen goals.

– Did the defense improve?
– Not really. In the first, half we were scoring goals from set pieces that could have been avoided, we just needed to put our hands up in defense, but we were always trying to react afterwards. But it wasn't the back that was the problem, it was the attacking play.

– Was there a moment when you felt that you still could win?
– Not really. There was a period when we started to catch up, we tried to steal the ball and have it, but they still would find a way to score and keep us four or five goals down. I remember Zsófi Szemerey had two saves in a row that could have led to breakaway goals, but we missed them, which didn't help us mentally. If our offense doesn't work, we will continue to be insecure.

– That's the way to go for the final group match against the defending champions, Norway. What can we expect?
– It's very difficult to prepare for the next game after a defeat like this because those who were confident have recently become insecure too. The Norwegians are better, there is no doubt about that, but we will do our best. We made too many mistakes, and we were impatient, but the girls know they can play better than that.

"We still have a mathematical chance to reach the goal set by the federation, but based on our performance, it is not realistic” – the captain continued to the Hungarian journalists. He added that if they had been able to make gradual progress, they could have made it to the final eight, but it will be very difficult now; a miracle would have to happen.

DÓRA HORNYÁK: WE MUST WORK TOGETHER TO FIND A SOLUTION

„We were relaxed, we were well-prepared for Croatia, we knew they would defend hard, but in the beginning, we didn't get anything going in offense, and if you don't score the first few shots, you get discouraged. We attacked a couple of times, for example at the end, and I thought we could turn the result around – we could've done so if we had better individual solutions. It might have been the first ten minutes, but it was always a plus when we caught up, even if it takes a lot of energy when we have to keep running after the result. We also got a little bit more nervous because we really wanted to score and that's why went to the other extreme” – said center back Csenge Kuczora.

"We tried to get rid of the stiffness, but the opportunities we had didn't work out and the Croatian goalkeeper defended very well, she plays a style of handball that is rare” – Viktória Győri-Lukács continued, who was the most successful player of the team with four goals.

„After the poor start, maybe that will which had paralyzed us like against Switzerland. We suffered, but I am proud that we kept going for 60 minutes. We had it in our minds at all times that we could come back, but it was only in the last ten or fifteen minutes that things started to happen, and the goals came. Our defense improved, we got tougher, we helped each other more, but I feel we need to work more together in offense.”

On Tuesday night, Hungary close the group stage against defending champions, Norway. As Oftedale’s team played accordingly to the form against Switzerland in the evening game, our team, along with Thorir Hergeirsson's, also advanced. But if we start the semifinals with zero points, the goal of reaching the final eight will have to be a feat.

Translated by: Vanda Orosz.