The Canberra Handball club started their 2023 NSW Men’s League with a double-header against Harbourside then UTS Handball Club, at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday.
The ideal start for Canberra
The team started by playing Harbourside in the morning. The team won 22-29
Using fast-paced turnovers, the Canberra men recovered a four-goal deficit to take the lead by the 20th minute and maintaining it till the end.
This game marked the return to the competition of veteran Canberra player Luke Behendroff, after a long hiatus from competition.
In the second half of the game, the team further extended their lead despite the aggressive defensive strategy put in place by Harbourside.
This first game of the year allowed the squad to get into competitive rhythms and set up their tactics for this year.
Canberra HC:
Taip Ramadani, Karl Warrener (8 goals), Zlatan Ivankovic, Luke Behendroff, Aleks Šestić (2 goals), Nicola Rizzotto (3 Goals), Saša Šestić (6 goals), Mitch Sewter (1 goal), Harjodh Singh (2 goals), Sam Hayward (1 goal), Rowan Vergano ( 1 goal), Christopher Sellwod, Daniel Peryman (2 goals)
A tense loss against UTS Handball Club
Later in the afternoon, a tired Canberra team provided little resistance to against UTS Handball Club, going down 18:31 (8:18 at the break).
UTS created an early lead and left Canberra chasing for the entire match.
Despite many opportunities, the team struggled to score due to an impressive performance by the Sydney side goalkeeper.
Fatigue led to more defensive mistakes and UTS was able to rely on the speed of their fast breaks to extend their lead against our team.
However, despite the difficulties that the team was facing during the game, the team relied on Sasa Sestic’s experience to break through the defensive line built by UTS.
Canberra HC:
Taip Ramadani, Karl Warrener (3 goals), Zlatan Ivankovic, Luke Behendroff, Aleks Šestić , Nicola Rizzotto, Saša Šestić (6 goals), Mitch Sewter (1 goal), Harjodh Singh (2 goals), Sam Hayward (2 goals ), Rowan Vergano ( 1 goal), Christopher Sellwod (1 goal), Daniel Peryman (2 goals)
Despite the mixed results of the weekend, the team is looking forward to its first game of the year at home on 4 March at Brindabella College against Harbourside.
Written by: Marie Arnaud
