Magnificent Comeback Lifts Norway Past Serbia
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Loading... - Kylie Smith
- 24 Jan 2023
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Norway extended their winning streak at Poland/Sweden 2023 to four wins in a row after a superb comeback in their first main round match in Katowice, delivering a huge blow to Serbia's chances of a quarter-final berth with a 31:28 win.
It was the last-chance saloon for Serbia, as a loss against Norway on Thursday evening in the Spodek Arena in Katowice would have seen them virtually eliminated from contention for a quarter-finals berth. But tough as nails, Serbia would not give up without a fight, especially as coach Toni Gerona created a tight unit which plays every match as if it were their last.
This is why it was no surprise that Serbia had a strong start to the match, with left back Petar ?or?i? catapulting three powerful shots in the top corner in quick succession over a four-minute span between the sixth and tenth minutes, helping his side to take an early 7:5 lead.
In fact, in attack, Serbia relied heavily on their back line, who scored 10 of their 17 goals in the first half, with right backs Miloš Orbovi? and Jovica Nikoli? combining for six goals and Norway struggling to find any answers to block them. But the decisive factor was goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev.
Milosavljev missed Serbia's first two matches due to an injury he was only recently cleared of. Making his debut against Qatar, the 26-year-old shot-stopper had an excellent second half. But it was nothing compared to his antics in the match against Norway, where he finished the first half with eight saves for a 36% saving efficiency, including four one-on-one saves.
That meant Norway had to mount a comeback in the second half, which they started three goals down (17:14). As back Sander Sagosen failed to register a shot, dishing four assists, it was clear that something was off in Norway's attack and they had only 30 minutes to bounce back. Read More…
