24/05/2016 00:13
Cyprus and Faroe Islands off to flying start at women’s World Champs qualifier
2018 FIVB Women's World Championship / 2017 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Small Countries Division
Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, May 23, 2016. Cyprus had no problems beating Liechtenstein 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-21) when the two teams met on Monday afternoon in the first round qualifier of the 2018 FIVB Women’s World Championship being played in the Faroese capital Tórshavn, which counts also as the qualifying stage for the 2017 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Small Countries Division. Later in the evening the hosts of the Faroe Islands routed Ireland by the same score after delivering a very solid and consistent performance resulting in an impressive 25-8, 25-12, 25-11 win. After the first day of competition, the home team tops the charts of the group, closely followed by Cyprus. Liechtenstein and Ireland follow in third and fourth place, respectively.
The current standing provides a good picture of what is to be expected on the final day when the Faroe Islands and Cyprus will most probably play for first place in the pool. On Tuesday the home team plays Liechtenstein at 20:00 local time in a game they are expected to win. Earlier in the afternoon Cyprus takes on Ireland at 17:00.
Liechtenstein vs. Cyprus 0-3 (19-25, 16-25, 21-25)
Cyprus was better in every aspect of the game, and therefore it only was a matter of how big the difference would be in each set. It wasn’t that easy for Cyprus though as Liechtenstein at times woke up and put pressure on one of the favourite teams for the overall win in Pool A.
Even though statistics say that Liechtenstein was better in some positions, they were far from winning the match, which ended 3-0 to Cyprus (25-19, 25-16, 25-21).
The result of the opening match on Monday places Cyprus as one of the hottest favourites to claim the top position in the group at the end of the three-day tournament.
Faroe Islands vs. Ireland 3-0 (25-8, 25-12, 25-11)
The home team of the Faroe Islands, who probably has never been any stronger, finished the match with Ireland in just 63 minutes, cruising to a 3-0 win sealed with an impressive score line (25-8, 25-12, 25-11).
The Faroe Islands did better in every aspect of the game, and they showed the local crowd that it was no coincidence that they only lost 3-2 to Denmark a couple of friendly matches they had contested a week ago.
Sometimes the Faroese team has struggled to keep up the pressure for the entire match, but that was no problem on Monday. The hosts put a lot of pressure on their opponent from start to finish, thereby leaving no chance to Ireland to find their way back into the game.
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the matches
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