Yugoslavia - Ukraine 39-24 (19-8)

Aarhus, DENMARK, December 10 (official 2002 European Women's Handball Championship website) - Ukraine failed to put up a fight against Yugoslavia and now the Yugoslavs could well back in the hunt for the medals. 39-24 was the final score and only lack of concentration kept the Yugoslav score down below 40 goals.

Once again Ukraine had nothing at all to offer and it is surely a sad thing that Ukraine sent Holland home after the first round. Only Irena Verholyuk played at a level expected for a major championship, and it is hard to explain what has happened to the former silver medallist from EURO 2000.

The team is not acting as a team and the players definitely have no order in either the offence or the defence. If nothing great happens, Ukraine will very soon be past tense in women's handball.

"There is no simple explanation for our lack of playing skills. We just cannot get it working. Neither in offence nor at the other end. It will be hard to get the team ready for the last match of the main round, but of course we would like to have a victory in the main round," the Ukraine coach Ratner said at the press conference.

After a disappointing game against France, the Yugoslav players really proved that they still are amongst the teams with a fair chance of medals. A strong defence and a good counter attack are the keys of the Yugoslav team and players like Bojana Petrovic and Tatjana Medved elevate Yugoslavia in to the world rankings. With the result of today's match, the match against Denmark tomorrow will be crucial for the Yugoslavs, if they are to fulfil their medal ambitions.

Marko Isakovic, the coach of the Yugoslavian team, was a very happy man after the match. He is going for the gold again.

"It was a very fair match. I would like to thank Ukraine for the fair play in the match. Our players managed to keep the concentration on a very high level for 50 minutes and that bodes well for the next matches. I am sure we will give the Danes a surprise tomorrow and go to the semi-finals as winners of Group I, " he said.

Second Round, Gameday 2 - Results and Current Standings

Group One
Yugoslavia - Ukraine 39-24
France - Romania 29-26
Denmark - Austria 26-20

Current Standings

 
      1. Denmark        4   4   0   0   98- 83 (+15)    8     
      2. Yugoslavia     4   3   0   1  128-101 (+27)    6   
      3. France         4   3   0   1   99- 94  (+5)    6
      4. Romania        4   1   0   3  101-107  (-6)    2  
      5. Austria        4   1   0   3   96-102  (-6)    2    
      6. Ukraine        4   0   0   4   87-122 (-35)    0  

 
      1. Norway          4   4   0   0  111- 80  (+31)   8    
      2. Russia          4   3   0   1  111- 94  (+17)   6 
      3. Hungary         4   3   0   1  123-118   (+5)   6
      4. Slovenia        4   1   0   3  102-116  (-14)   2  
      5. Chech Republic  4   1   0   3   90-109  (-19)   2
      6. Germany         4   0   0   4   91-111  (-20)   0