Sports weekend

The latest from men's handball, ice hockey and football

Steliu Lambru, 13.03.2023, 13:45

Romania’s men’s national handball
team on home court defeated the Faeroe Islands team, 25-17. The fixture counted
towards the preliminaries as part of the 4th group of the European Championship, to
be hosted by Germany in 2024. In the first leg, the Faeroe Islands team grabbed
an unexpected 28-26 win. In another group 4 fixture, Austria outclassed
Ukraine, 31-28. With 8 points, Austria is at the top of the table, Romania is
the runner-up team, with 4, while Ukraine and the Faeroe Islands are 3rd
and 4th-placed, respectively, with 2 points each. In the group’s upcoming legs, Faeroe Islands
goes against Ukraine, Romania faces Austria, then Austria takes on Faeroe Islands, while Ukraine plays Romania.
The first two teams in each of the eight preliminary groups qualify to the
final tournament, alongside the best four 3rd-placed teams.

In
the ice hockey Erste Liga, the Romania team ACSH Gheorgheni is a whisker away
from advancing to the competition’s final stage. In a home game on Sunday, ACSH
Gheorgheni defeated another Romanian team, Corona Brașov, 2-1. It was the 5th fixture
in a series of seven. With an aggregate score of 3-2, ACSH
Gheorgheni has the lead, while the return leg is scheduled on the skating rink
in Brasov. In the other semifinal, the Hungarian team Budapest Akademia sustained a 1-3 home defeat by Ferencvaros Budapest, also from Hungary. The latter
team has a 3-2 lead on aggregate.

In
news from football, matches counting towards the Romanian Super league’s 30th
round, the last round of the regular season, were played at the weekend. On
Friday, FC Botoșani and CS Mioveni drew, 1-all, while CSU
Craiova defeated UTA Arad, 2-1. On Saturday, FC Arges sustained a nil-1 defeat
by Petrolul Ploiesti, while Farul Constanta grabbed a 2-1 win in the match against
Rapid Bucharest. On Sunday, FC Hermannstadt defeated FCU Craiova, 1-nil, while FCSB
defeated Sepsi Sfântul Gheorghe, also 1-nil. Farul Constanța, CFR Cluj, FCSB,
CSU Craiova and Rapid București play in Group 1, while playing in Group 2 are Petrolul
Ploiești, Universitatea Cluj, FC Voluntari, FC Hermannstadt, FC Botoșani, Chindia
Târgoviște, UTA Arad, FC Argeș and CS Mioveni.

Counting towards the League’s 23rd
round and interrupted in the 26th minute because of the racist
slogans shouted in the stands, the match pitting Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe against
FCU Craiova will be replayed. The result will definitely decide the team that will
play in the League’s Group 1. With 40 points, 6th-placed FCU Craiova
is at the bottom of the table according to Group 2 rankings, while Sepsi Sfantu
Gheorghe is 7th-placed, with 39 points. (EN)