Croatia's European Handball Championship campaign begins with a win over Montenegro

(Patria) - Croatia started the European Handball Championship with a victory over Montenegro with a score of 27:21. The match in Graz was very even and exciting until the middle of the second half when the favoured 'Kauboji' broke the resistance of the weakened Montenegrins.

The first half saw a series of turnarounds. The teams exchanged leads with mini-runs of two or more goals. After the first half, the 'Lions' had a minimal lead of 12:13.

At the start of the second half, Croatia made a 5:1 run to turn the score in their favour. After Marić's goal in the 46th minute, the score was 21:16, which ultimately proved to be an insurmountable lead.

The remaining minutes were just a routine completion of the task for Lino Červar's squad. The final score of the match was 27:21. For the Croatian national team, Ćindrić was the most effective with six goals, while Marić and Horvat added four each. For Montenegro, Grbović scored six goals.

The goalkeepers did not have their best night. Šego made six saves for one side, and Šimić made seven saves for the other.