Freelance sports media journalist. Commentator for the EHF Champions League and co-host “handballhour.libsyn.com“. Irish international handball player.
By Chris O’Reilly Hungary booked their spot in the quarter-finals of Egypt 2021 with a convincing 30:26 victory over Poland on Saturday. The game was practically won in the first half, allowing Hungary to conserve their energy for a group final against Spain on Monday. Here are the ratings for all players involved in the match and the two head …
By Chris O’Reilly An intriguing and at times exciting Friday night clash saw Slovenia and Sweden play out a 28:28 draw as Slovenia twice clawed their way back from significant deficits to claim a point. The result keeps Slovenia’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals alive while Sweden now top the group with one round left to play. Here are the …
By Chris O’Reilly Wednesday night’s headline act at Egypt 2021 lived up to expectations as Norway edged out Portugal 29:28 in a genuinely thrilling clash, a match which leaves Main Round Group 3 beautifully poised. Here are the ratings for all players involved in the match and the two head coaches, with everyone rated on a scale from 1 (the …
By Chris O’Reilly The preliminary round of the World Handball Championship 2021 has come to an end and that is something we were not 100% sure would happen this time last week. For an event shrouded in disappointing news and criticism before it even began, I’m surprised by how enjoyable it has been. We’ve been treated to seven days of …
By Chris O’Reilly With a record 32 teams competing as well as the conditions and participants constantly changing, the Men’s World Championship 2021 looks set to be one of the wildest rides in handball to date. Rather than a traditional look through the groups and discussing a number of teams you don’t want to read about, here’s a short collection …
VELUX EHF FINAL4 – GOLD MEDAL MATCH THW Kiel vs Barça 33:28 (19:16) By Chris O’Reilly THW Kiel defied the odds and stunned the seemingly unstoppable Barça to claim their fourth EHF Champions League title and the first since 2012 in their second thrilling encounter in 24 hours. Here are the ratings for all players involved in the match and …
VELUX EHF FINAL4 – BRONZE MEDAL MATCH Telekom Veszprém HC vs Paris Saint-Germain 26:31 (11:14) By Chris O’Reilly Before the Match Easily one of the toughest games to get motivated for when you play for clubs of this stature. PSG came into the game on the back of a disappointing, if not expected, five-goal defeat to Barça on Monday evening. …
VELUX EHF FINAL4 – SECOND SEMI-FINAL THW Kiel vs Telekom Veszprém HC 36:35 after extra-time (18:13, 29:29) By Chris O’Reilly THW Kiel somehow survived one of the most enthralling matches in EHF FINAL4 history to beat Veszprém and book a spot in the final against Barça on Tuesday night. Here are the ratings for all players involved in the match …
VELUX EHF FINAL4 – FIRST SEMI-FINAL Barça vs Paris Saint-Germain 37:32 (18:14 ) By Chris O’Reilly Before the Match Barça came into this game on the back of a 21-game winning streak in European competition, a run which included two high scoring victories over PSG just over a year ago. Injury doubt Aron Palmarsson was passed fit to play for …
By Chris O’Reilly Will Barça stick to the script for Christmas in Cologne? The VELUX EHF FINAL4 has rarely played out as predicted. In over the years, we’ve seen Hamburg, Flensburg, Kielce, Vardar, Montpellier and Vardar again tear the form book to pieces and claim the title in surprising circumstances. In fact, since 2013, only one team has stuck …
