The Ireland Men’s Junior squad (Under 21) departed this morning, October 22nd, for Kosovo to participate in the IHF Trophy.
The competition will see some members of the M18 squad who played in the Euro Championship in Austria in August join with younger members of the senior squad and will provide some good experience ahead of the EURO 2022 qualifiers and Emerging Nations Trophy next year.
The IHF Trophy – European Zone for men’s youth and junior teams will be held in the Kosovan capital Pristina from October 23 to 28. The championship will feature four teams competing in the youth age category and six in junior, all from emerging European nations.
In the youth category, Kosovo, Moldova, Great Britain and Albania will vie for the trophy. In the junior age group, Kosovo, Moldova, Great Britain, Malta, Georgia and Ireland will battle for the title. The U20 matches will be played in the Palace of Youth and Sports, Pristina, while the U18 games are to be held in the Palace of 1 October.
Due to the different number of teams in each age category, the competition format will vary. The youth championship will feature three days of round-robin matches, at the end of which the top two teams qualify directly for the trophy match and the next two proceed to the bronze-medal game on the 27th. The junior age group will play only round-robin games, with the top-ranked team at the end of the competition to be crowned the champions.
M20 Squad for Kosovo
AXEL D’ARCY Rudersdal Haandball
THOMAS KROHN-GRACE Tornby
TOBIAS BAUER SVDJK Taufkirchen
ASA MALLON Liverpool HC
CONSTANTINOS KIERAN THOMPSON
COLM THIEL HC Erlangen
BLAKE VanDUYVENOORDE Dublin Wings HC
NICOLAI BAGRIN Dublin International HC
SEAN FUCHS Turnerkreis Nippe 1903e.v
DARRAGH FLOOD Collinstown FC
EOIN McMAHON Warrington Wolves
Team Officials
Tomas Martinonis Head Coach
Jehona Jashari Team Manager
Lorna C.Flanagan Team Physio
Junior competition Schedule
Participants: Kosovo (KOS), Great Britain (GBR), Moldova (MDA), Malta (MLT), Georgia (GEO), Ireland (IRL)
Tuesday 23 October
14:00 MDA-IRL
16:00 MLT-GEO
18:00 GBR-KOS
Wednesday 24 October
14:00 MDA-MLT
16:00 GBR-GEO
18:00 IRL-KOS
Friday 26 October
14:00 IRL-MLT
16:00 GBR-MDA
18:00 KOS-GEO
Saturday 27 October
14:00 GEO-MDA
16:00 IRL-GBR
18:00 MLT-KOS
Sunday 28 October
11:00 GEO-IRL
13:00 MLT-GBR
15:00 KOS-MDA
All times local.
