Umag, Croatia, June 28, 2014.  The Czech Republic defeated Luxembourg and Denmark shut out Croatia in today’s semifinal match-ups in Pool C of the first round in the men’s 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.  The Czechs and the Danes will face each other on Sunday in a direct battle for the first place.  The loser of that match-up will then have to earn the second place in a clash with the home team of Croatia, which beat Luxembourg in the only losers’ bracket match-up on Saturday.

Denmark 2, Croatia 0

Niksa Dell'Orco and Mate Glaurdic did their best against Denmark's first duo Martin Olesen / Peter Kildegaard to keep Croatian chances for the final alive.  Denmark did not allow any surprises and kept up its pace throughout the match to win it in straight sets by 2:0 (21-18, 21-14).  Mats Rosager / Anders Lunds Hoyer resolved the finalist dilemma in another 36 minutes, as that is how long it took them to win against Filip Silic / Ivan Zeljkovic by 2:0 (21-12, 21-12).

Martin Olesen, Denmark:  “It was a good starter for us as we managed to find our game, especially in these conditions.  The court is great, but it is quite hot compared to Denmark.”

Peter Kildegaard, Denmark:  “In Umag we expect good games and to play against some good teams we have not played before, and, of course, we want to win the tournament.  We played against the Croatian team for the first time.  They are pretty young and I think they will develop as they gain more experience.”

Czech Republic 2, Luxembourg 0

The Czech duo Robert Kufa / Jan Dumek started powerfully against the Luxembourgish team Gil Nizard / Andy Konig with a 21-8 in the first set.  Luxembourg's first pair fought back in the exciting second set which turned to their side at 21-19, so the match was decided in the third set.  Kufa / Dumek took control of the match and won by 15-10 for the final 2:1.  Ben Angelsberg / Tom Meres had to beat two Davids, Lenc and Kufa, to keep Luxembourg’s hopes for the final match.  “David” was once more better that “Goliath”, so Lenc / Kufa celebrated with a 2:0 (21-11, 21-8) victory.

Gil Nizard, Luxembourg:  “In the first set we had a lot of problems to find our game.  In the second set we played well, offered good resistance against the Czechs and gained some experience, so we are satisfied.  Generally we have to minimize our mistakes to be better.”

Ben Angelsberg, Luxembourg:  “Our teammates played well in the first match and won a set. We did not play well.  We made too many mistakes and did not make enough pressure when they were serving.  It was a difficult match, they had great defense and good block, so they deserved to win.”

Robert Kufa, Czech Republic:  “We played very well in the first set and then I think we underestimated a bit the guys from Luxemburg, so they started to play their game.  That is why we ended in a tie-breaker.  I think we have two strong teams here in Umag, so we could win the tournament.”

Luxembourg 0, Croatia 2

After losing the first match against Denmark, the young Croats had a chance to enter the battle for the second place.  The first stage was to win against Luxembourg.  Dell’Orco / Glaurdic did their part against Nizard / Konig with 2:0 (21-13, 21-17).  Silic / Zeljkovic gave their contribution against Angelsberg / Meres in two sets for 2:0 (21-9, 21-11).

Filip Silic and Ivan Zeljkovic, Croatia:  “We had lots of problems during the game in the morning, we did not have constant side-out and good reception, so we could not organize for attack properly, so the Danish team punished it.  We played much better in the afternoon, so now we are waiting for the loser in Czech Republic vs. Denmark match-up tomorrow.  We will do our best to win.”