The Australian men’s handball team defeated Andorra 32:19 on Saturday in Varna, to advance into the 5th place play-off match of the 2023 IHF Emerging Nations Championship.
The game started off perfectly for Australia, with their impenetrable defence shutting down the Andorran attack from the beginning and by the end of the first half, Australia was clear with a score of 13:4. Tim Anderson and Liam McCourt once again led Australia’s defence, while goalkeeper Bjorn McCourt put on another outstanding performance, making 9 saves out of 13 shots faced.
Andorra started the second half at a furious pace, driving at the Aussie defence and getting some initial goals before Anderson and Caleb Gahan steadied the ship and, with the aid of some excellent performances from some of the younger players ran out comfortable winners.
Thanks to this win, Australia has set up a potentially thrilling clash with Great Britain for 5th place in the championship. But no matter the result, Australia has already achieved their best ranking ever in this tournament (from 12th in 2015).
Congratulations to the Australian men’s handball team for their fantastic performance!
Photo: Australian goalkeeper Bjørn McCourt lines up a throw. Credit: IHF
