Albania Great Britain
Actually Albania had started pretty well setting the pace of the game for most of the opening set and going up by 4 points at the second mandatory stop (16:12). However, Great Britain was able to storm back and draw level at 18 before Albania accelerated again but without being able to finalize its quest. Two set balls were missed by the home heroes as the young players included in the group evidently did not cope with the pressure there, and this paved the way with gold for the guests who eventually wrapped it up at 27-25.
The second set was very hard-fought up to the score of 13 all; afterwards Great Britain was able to impose its rhythm opening up the gap (22:19) and even though Albania fought back (23:22), still the guests could seal the deal by scoring the next couple of rallies (25-23). Very much relaxed and showing real confidence, the Brits dominated the scene in the third set to go for the final 25-20 and finish it off in straight sets, waiting for the return match scheduled for next week in Crawley.
