Spain – Croatia
In the first match of the second day the European vice-champions of Spain had a tough ride against the resilient Croats. After a great battle, the Spaniards managed to book a valuable win in four sets 3:1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-21, and 25-19). Leo Andrić of Croatia topped the scorers’ chart with 29 points, while Spain’s Andres J. Villena was the most prolific player for the winning side with 27.
Even though Croatia had the role of the underdogs in this match, they created many problems for the Spanish side. Croatia caught the better start in the opening set and the European vice-champions had to struggle hard for each and every point. Through the middle of the set, the teams were evenly matched, but then the Spaniards managed to create a gap and secure their lead. In the end, it was 25-19 and 1:0 in sets for Spain.
The second set, however, offered a completely different scenario. Croatia got off to an early 8:2 lead playing with great determination and commitment. Spain slowly but surely narrowed the gap, first to 11:16 at the second technical time-out, and then to 15:18 after the break. Croatia’s time-out did not help as the Spanish side came within just one point of difference at 19:20. However, Croatia managed to tighten their defense, while the powerful spikes by Leo Andrić were simply uncatchable for the Spaniards. Croatia stormed to a 25-20 and equalized the match.
All through the third set both teams were keeping close to each other, but Spain was always slightly ahead. After 19:18 for Spain, the “red fury” went on to score a couple of important points and create an unreachable gap at 24:20. They used the second set ball and wrapped it up at 25-21 for the provisional 2:1 in sets.
The start of the fourth set was interesting, as both teams played very well. However, between the two technical breaks, Spain managed to create a gap and secure a comfortable 16:11 advantage. The resilient Croats managed to recover and narrow the gap to just two points at 15:17, but after Ricardo Maldonado’s time-out Spain stormed to 25-19 and booked another three points.
Ricardo Maldonado, head coach of Spain, said: “We did not play very well, but I have to congratulate our rivals who played an excellent match. Leo Andrić was simply unstoppable and we had to dig deep to secure the victory. I hope we will perform better in the upcoming matches.“
Andres J. Villena, captain of Spain: “Croatia played a great match. They were superb in defense, and also in service and in attack. We struggled with our reception and lacked precision in attack. Overall, we lacked stability in this match.“
Milorad Krunić, head coach of Croatia, stated: “We are aware that we played against the European vice-champions. And from this match I think that nobody could tell that there is some big difference in the quality of the two teams even though they are ranked 2nd in Europe and we finished the last edition of the championship in 27th place. I am proud of my players, and I have nothing to reproach. I am not expecting to win one of the next matches but if we play like we did today I will be extremely satisfied.“
Ante Giljanović, captain of Croatia, concluded: “We fought well. We knew that we had to be aggressive and I think we did a good job today.“
To read more news from this competition click on 2013 FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship – European Qualification.
