Women’s semi-final – Netherlands v Hungary 8-7

Arno Havenga, head coach, Netherlands:
“It was an exciting match, a real final. We have been playing every game at this tournament as if was a final. In the end I think we deserved to win. We played well, concentrated, disciplined in defence. We could have scored more goals, played better in attack, especially in extraman, though I’m not sure about the stats. In the end maybe we even had luck on our side today. I can say I’m looking forward to the gold medal match.”

Vivian Sevenich, player, Netherlands:
“I’m sooo happy and proud of what we have done. We really played like a team. It was a close game. In the end we were luckier. We’re going to give our best to win the gold medal.”

Laszlo Toth, assistant coach (replacing suspended head coach), Hungary:
“I think we committed enough mistakes at the beginning and in the third period which put us in a position where we had to burn way too much energy to catch up with the Netherlands. These reserves were missing when we had the chance to go even or perhaps think of taking over the lead. These mistakes are part of the game so we cannot blame any of the players, they were really committed and gave all they had. We lost by a single goal to a very strong Dutch team, but this is something we have to accept since among the top six teams one goal goes this way on a given day and to the other on the next day.”

Gabriella Szucs, player, Hungary
“At the beginning we just didn’t do what we planned and couldn’t break through their defence. We knew what to expect we should have needed sharper shots. Then we came back to the match, but again, we had a blackout in the third, they jumped to a three-goal lead, at this level it’s huge and you have to give your best to come back to even. We had the chances, though, but didn’t have the necessary sharpness to convert them. I think it’s still a good result from this young, rebuilding team but definitely we wanted more and it’s a bad feeling to be close but not able to make the last step.”

Women’s semi-final – Greece v Spain 11-9

Georgios Morfesis, head coach, Greece:
“It was a tough game against the strongest team in the world. They are complete in every single position. We played with heart, were smart in the way we played. Still, we can’t be so happy because the tragic events in Greece. We wanted to do something good for them.”

Alexandra Asimaki, captain, Greece:
“I’m happy. We wanted to win not only for us but also to dedicate this victory to all the victims in our homeland. Today we beat a great team in front of their home crowd here in Barcelona. We played our best game here. We look forward to playing the finals against the Netherlands.”

Miguel Oca, head coach, Spain:
“They played very well today. We couldn’t score our extraman. We wanted to come back in to game, we tried but were constantly behind and once they were at +4 it was difficult.. We will do our best to win a medal on Friday.”

Women, for places 5-8th – Germany v Italy 2-17

Anja Skibbe, head coach, Germany:
“I know this was not a game that Italy wanted or expected to play. They changed a lot of players. I told the girls that this maybe the first time not to concede so many goals. Again, we use this to exercise to make our attack stronger, to play a different defence. This is OK for the moment. The girls are tired, we are approaching the end of the championships and most of them have aches and pains of some kind. We have to look and see what happens in the future. We now have a chance to play against France probably and we would like to finish the Championships in a good way. We have to understand what we want to do. I think we are on the right track, we just need time. Nothing changes overnight.”

Fabio Conti, head coach, Italy:
“Everything is OK. We are waiting for the last match against Russia in order to finish these championships in a good way. For us it will be like we are playing the real finals.”

Giulia Gorlero, goalkeeper, Italy:
“We started this game still feeling the disappointment after we lost in the quarter-finals. We now move on to Russia. We haven’t played against them yet. It’s a new opportunity to work for the future and close the Europeans with a victory.”

Women, for places 5-8th – Russia v France 13-10

Andrei Belofastov, assistant coach, Russia:
“We knew we were the favourites and it’s always like this especially in a game you weren’t expecting to play. We are out of the medal round and it’s not easy when we have been playing in the top matches at major events in the last 3-4 years. We didn’t change that many players, it is just sports. They are young, good. There are six equal teams that can beat anyone.”

Anna Timofeeva, player, Russia:
“This is so bad for us. This is not our game or a match we wanted to play. It’s difficult coming after a loss that put us out of the medal round. Now, I hope we can be stronger and show the world how we can play but also finish with a victory.”

Florian Bruzzo, head coach, Russia:
“We started off well today. This happens in the second match in a row and that makes me content. It’s good that my players are starting to realise that they simply have to be more aggressive, even if they do concede a goal or two, stay strong and concentrated and continue to do that. It’s difficult to play against top six teams.”

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Fonte Gergely Csurka
LEN Media Manager
Site https://www2.len.eu/

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