GREAT Britain Men’s handball team have secured their first international victory on home soil in thrilling style, beating Bulgaria 33-32 in the final match of their Euro 2012 campaign at Crystal Palace, London, on Saturday afternoon.
A last-second goal from man of the match Steven Larsson gave GB the lead for the first time in the match, and proved enough to spark jubilant scenes at a packed Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.
Larsson top-scored with 13 goals for GB, launching powerful shot after powerful shot past the Bulgarian goalkeeper to keep GB in the match.
But it was far from a one-man performance from GB.
Chris Mohr (pictured) was also in fine form, and although he didn’t repeat his 11-goal feat from Friday, he still bagged six goals and caused real problems for the Bulgarian defence with the sheer speed of his shooting catching Bulgaria on the hop.
Winger Mark Hawkins - who missed their Estonia defeat the previous day - came back into the squad after shrugging off his shoulder injury, and scored six goals from out wide.
The match ended in controversial style, with GB celebrating the win before the referees insisted that the match resumed for another two seconds.
After Bulgarian officials and players had been removed from the court, their long-range shot was well wide of the mark, and the arena erupted into jubilant scenes with friends, family and complete strangers cheering the tearful and relieved squad.
“I’m so happy,” said Mark Hawkins afterwards. “We’ve worked so hard for this, everybody has so much today.
“The fighting spirit was unbelievable, every one of us gave so much. There were a few moments where it looked hard, but we never doubted ourselves and kept fighting.”
And captain Ciaran Williams added: “I’m massively proud, it’s almost too hard to put into words. It’s been a long time coming since I joined the programme at the start four years ago.
“To get our first win in front of friends, family and supporters means so much, and I’m so happy to have done this, for the fans just as much as for the team.”
And Head Coach Dragan Djukic was equally jubilant with the result. “I’m very proud of the team, because we’ve started to believe in ourselves. I’m sure that we will not stop winning now!
“We’ve always had hope of a first win, but we’ve also been realistic about what it would take. Now we have it, we know how much it means to us all."
Some pictures from the match are available here. Many more to follow later.
A last-second goal from man of the match Steven Larsson gave GB the lead for the first time in the match, and proved enough to spark jubilant scenes at a packed Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.
Larsson top-scored with 13 goals for GB, launching powerful shot after powerful shot past the Bulgarian goalkeeper to keep GB in the match.
But it was far from a one-man performance from GB.
Chris Mohr (pictured) was also in fine form, and although he didn’t repeat his 11-goal feat from Friday, he still bagged six goals and caused real problems for the Bulgarian defence with the sheer speed of his shooting catching Bulgaria on the hop.
Winger Mark Hawkins - who missed their Estonia defeat the previous day - came back into the squad after shrugging off his shoulder injury, and scored six goals from out wide.
The match ended in controversial style, with GB celebrating the win before the referees insisted that the match resumed for another two seconds.
After Bulgarian officials and players had been removed from the court, their long-range shot was well wide of the mark, and the arena erupted into jubilant scenes with friends, family and complete strangers cheering the tearful and relieved squad.
“I’m so happy,” said Mark Hawkins afterwards. “We’ve worked so hard for this, everybody has so much today.
“The fighting spirit was unbelievable, every one of us gave so much. There were a few moments where it looked hard, but we never doubted ourselves and kept fighting.”
And captain Ciaran Williams added: “I’m massively proud, it’s almost too hard to put into words. It’s been a long time coming since I joined the programme at the start four years ago.
“To get our first win in front of friends, family and supporters means so much, and I’m so happy to have done this, for the fans just as much as for the team.”
And Head Coach Dragan Djukic was equally jubilant with the result. “I’m very proud of the team, because we’ve started to believe in ourselves. I’m sure that we will not stop winning now!
“We’ve always had hope of a first win, but we’ve also been realistic about what it would take. Now we have it, we know how much it means to us all."
Some pictures from the match are available here. Many more to follow later.
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