After a well earned rest day, the men from Sydney Uni HC were back down to business. The team has really bonded over the last week and has developed a great chemistry both on and off the court. Todays opponent would be El Jaish, who had under performed during the tournament and were ripe for the picking.

 

Brazilian side Metodista had upset Mudhar (KSA) in the previous game, so it appeared it was a day for the underdog. The Sydney Uni HC slow start struck again and gave up a large early lead to El Jaish. By the end of the half El Jaish was ahead 18 goals to 9 and it would be up to Sydney Uni HC in the second half to restore some pride.

The second half was all Sydney Uni, the hunger had returned and they were making amends for a lack-luster first half. Sydney Uni closed the gap to within 5 goals and played some of their best handball of the tournament. The match concluded with a stunning goal by Eric Charpentier followed by a celebratory back flip. Today was not to be the day of the underdog for all unfortunately, Sydney Uni HC went down by 8 goals, 33:25. Goal keeper Pascal Winkler sums up the game perfectly, “Unfortunately it was our weakest performance by now. But again we fought until the end and came back in the second half.”

Tomorrow is the placement match for Sydney Uni HC and will be the final match for the tournament. They hope to avenge their first round loss to Mudhar in the playoff for 7th and 8th. The side has come on in leaps and bounds in the past week and anything is possible. The game will be at 11am(gmt+3) tomorrow. The game will be broadcast through Al-Kass and there will be live updates through facebook (should there be no more network issues).

Leave your words of support for the team at https://www.facebook.com/SydneyUniHandball. This is a big chance for the team and any support is greatly appreciated.