Denmark upset Russia and GB look dominant on Day 2!
July 2, 2019 by Peter Jesse in News, Recap with 0 comments
On the second full day of competition the picture got clearer on which teams are going to compete for medals. One of the favorites Great Britain made their ambitions clear with a marquee win. Another favorite, Russia, was upset by a determined Danish team.
Pool XA
In this group only two games took place. Germany won their game against Ireland 15-6. The biggest upset of the tournament so far, was Denmark wining over Russia. Denmark got ahead by 3 breaks before halftime and never looked back to win 14-9 in a game that will be remembered for more than just the result.
The game had a spirit timeout that was necessary after a Russian player went down with an injury without a Dane being involved. The injury call by one of Russia’s women that was close by on the field sparked an aggressive reaction by a male Danish player. He was confronted by Toly Vasiliev which ended in an intense face to face stare down. A spirit timeout was called that managed to resolve the issue.
Vasiliev and Danish captain Jeppe Arne Ankjær Nielsen told me that they thought the spirit in the game overall was not bad. Ankjær Nielsen himself thought the Danish player was too aggressive and Vasiliev conceded that his reaction was not ideal.
As the sprit timeout delayed the game significantly, sprinklers behind one of the endzones turned on. Some Danish men’s players spectating the game managed to block the sprinklers with benches, but right as they did that the sprinklers in the middle of the field turned on. The players and spectators that gathered moved to another field to finish one point and play the very last one.
Asked if he sees Denmark as a contender for a medal, Ankjær Nielsen said they will battle in every game to get there. Vasiliev was impressed by the athleticism of the Danish women and praised their strategy of hucking to mismatches. Regarding his own team he said they took the game for granted and were not really prepared. He assured that Russia will not take any teams lightly in the coming rounds.
In the morning Denmark will meet Germany. A win for Germany could mean a very close call for who goes to the power pools. If Germany win and Russia take care of Ireland, it will be a three-way tie between Denmark, Germany and Russia. Germany now sit at -3, Russia and -2 and Denmark at +5. Russia must win against Ireland to keep their power pool chances alive, but that may also not be enough.
Pool XB
Great Britain showed their dominance in the pool by only conceding 5 points in two games. Austria lost 15-2 in the morning against GB. According to coach Austrian Gerhard Tonhauser, they just not match the GB athleticism. In a game of very different attitudes calm and skilled Sweden beat motivated and raw Hungary with ease.
GB and Sweden met in their second game of the day. In a game that some people might have picked to be this years finals, Sweden were dismantled. After a two holds by Scandinavians, GB started to shut down all the Swedish deep shots and were deadly after the turn. Sweden only managed one more point and lost 15-3. Sweden had nobody to stop Steve Kolthammer from going deep. All their experience could not help the Swedish women against the collective of female Brits. Cohesion, the prognosticated weak point of GB, was not an issue in both of their games today.
Austria and Lithuania met on the satellite fields and both teams needed a win to have a chance for third place in the group. Austria won the game 15-9 after there was another spirit time out in the first half. Austria’s spirit captain Leena Rapottnig and Lithuania’s Gintarė Petrauskaitė basically said the same thing: The first half was very physical from both sides and discussions where not handled well. The spirit captains decided to have a spirit time out to dissolve the situation which worked out according to them.
GB has topped the pool and Sweden have to beat Lithuania to advance to power pools.
Pool XC
France started with an easy win against Belgium before they were surprised by a hot start by Italy. Italy’s D line was intense and Emmanuel Olayanju forced several turns. Italy got a lead of 5-1 before Ronan Bichon and Gaël Ancelin steadied the ship for France. Italy played a lot of force middle to stop France’s flow and took half 8-4. Out of the half, Italy scored two more breaks. Italy’s high intensity game took its toll at that point in the game and some lengthy discussion cost even more energy so France found a way back into the game. France scored six in a row to get even at 10-10. Italy did not connect on the risky throws like in the first half and lost in a game that cost a lot of energy 14-12. When France was forced to make up the deficit they relied on their male stars and so did Italy for the whole game. Italy showed though that they might be a dangerous team when we get to bracket play.
Slovenia also had two games. The streamed game was a really bad experience with them making a lot of mistakes and Norway capitalizing to take it 15-9. Slovenia got their first win later on by defeating Belgium in universe point.
Italy needs a win today against Belgium to advance to power pools and that game will be streamed on fanseat.
Pool XD
Finland challenged Switzerland for first place in the group but just came short in a double game point loss. The Finnish Karoliina Rintamäki was a standout in this game as she tirelessly worked the under cuts. A calf injury kept Swiss captain Ron Kubalanza out for Monday’s games, but his team stepped up their play from yesterday. They are getting more cohesive from game to game and their structured offense was hard to stop for the Finns. Olga Chinina on the Swiss D line was a preferred target after the turn. Finland was trailing in the game for a long time but and came back to force a double game point but the Swiss offense executed flawlessly and secured this win that will gave the Swiss first place in the group. Switzerland also went on to win their second game of the day against Belarus 15-11.
The Czech Republic had a scare in the opening stages against Poland but after falling behind early they came back to win by three points. Against the Finnish national team they could not force turns and Finland took the important win in a game that likely decided the second ticket to power pools.
