The first games of the 2024 women’s European Championship are over. For host nation Austria, it was a great evening in Innsbruck as the Austrians demolished Slovakia, winning 37–24.
Head-to-head record between Austria and Slovakia ahead of tonight’s game? There were five wins for Austria plus two draws, but the last meeting between the two teams was 14 years ago.
Tonight, in Innsbruck, the win was never in doubt for the host nation, Austria. Sure, the two teams traded goals at the start of the game, but after an early timeout from the home side, the game was basically over.
Two Austrian players stood out in the first half, and they are sisters: Ines Ivancok-Soltic scored her team’s first three goals, and between the posts, sister Lena had a massive half, saving 42 percent of the shots.
Austria didn’t even have to use star players Sonja Frey, Johanna Reichert, or Patricia Kovacs that much. Still, the score at the break was 17–11.
In the second half, the lead got bigger and bigger all the way until the final whistle echoed in the arena in Innsbruck. Reichert, the top scorer in the Bundesliga, dominated and ended up with eight goals in total, the same tally as Ivancok-Soltic.
Sister Lena ended up with 14 saves and 45 in save percentage. Quite the evening, in other words. Austria ended up winning the game, 37–24.
For Slovakia, it was a tough match, and now the small chance of making it past the preliminary round is dead. One positive thing for Slovakia? The performance of Barbora Lancz. The right back scored nine goals.
For Austria, there is a small chance, but to make it to the main round, they probably need to defeat either Norway or Slovenia.