January 16, 2018
Slovenia tied Germany 25:25 at its second fixture of the 2018 Eurohandball in Zagreb, reports the STA on January 16, 2018. After dominating most of the match and finishing one goal ahead of the favoured team after 60 minutes, the referees awarded a questionable penalty to Germany, which gladly took up on the opportunity.
Following a defeat against Macedonia (24:25) in the first round of the tournament, Slovenia upped its game against Germany and dominated most of the match, ending the first half with a comfortable lead of five goals (15:10).
After Germany managed to get the first lead in the second half at 20:21, the Slovenian team pulled together and Blaž Janc scored the winning goal six seconds before the end of the match, which sent the Slovenian fans in Zagreb into a frenzy.
However, this was a short-lived first win for Slovenia against Germany at a major tournament, because Lithuanian referees Mindaugas Gatelis and Vaidas Mazeika acquiesced to a German protest.
After examining video of the final six seconds of the match, the pair said Slovenia's Blaž Blagotinšek obstructed the German defence following the last goal and sent him off with a red card, awarding Germany the deciding penalty.
The penalty was executed by Tobias Reichmann.
Nevertheless, the team of coach Veselin Vujović, which has lodged a protest over the development, has scored an important point on its way to the main round.
The final obstacle in their path to Varaždin will be Montenegro, which Slovenia play on Wednesday.
After two fixtures, Slovenia has one point and Germany three. Macedonia has two points from the first match, while Montenegro has none.
