Dark horse Iceland stumbled in front of South Korea, conceding 22-21 at Beijing Olympic men's handball event on Thursday.
"I am satisfied with the team's defence. Our goalkeeper did quite a good job. We only lost 22 goals, but we shot badly today. We missed too many clear chances and made some technical mistakes in passing. What was worse, we were unlucky today, "said Gudmundur Gudmundsson, coach of Iceland.
The Icelanders could have equalized the score in the final seconds of the game. However, right back Asgeir Hallrimsson hit the crossbar before center back Snorri Gudjonsson, Iceland's top scorer in the competition with 20 goals from the first two matches, missed the unguarded gate.
Yoon Kuang-shin netted in six points to lead South Korea, but head coach Kim Tae-hoon was not very satisfied with him.
"I am pleased with his scoring. But he still needs some improvement. He often stands in the wrong position and he is a little bit slow due to his 2.03m height,"said Kim.
Iceland is so far the most eye-catching dark horse at Beijing Olympic men's handball, stunning Athens Games bronze medalist Russia and world champion Germany. However, the eighth placer of 2007 World Championship appeared nail-biting in front of South Korea's solid defending.
"They were just different from our previous opponents. Their defence limited us to only 21 goals. That was far from enough,"said a disappointed Gudmundsson in the post-match conference.
(Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2008)