U20 Pres­i­dent Cup: Austria beat Spar­tans 4:0 in opening game

Austria's U20 began the new season with a straightforward 4:0 victory over the Castleton Spartans from the USA. Vasily Zelenov struck after just a few minutes following work by Alexander Rupnik and Johannes Gruber. Overall, however, Head Coach Philipp Pinter's charges showed that it was their first game after the summer break. At times in the first period, they stood too far away from their opponents and made mistakes in building up play.

However, the Spartans were unable to capitalise on this and proved to be the perfect opening opponent. In the second period, red-white-red arrived in the new season.

Felix Haiböck made it 2:0 in the 24 minute, while Raffael Aigner, set up by Ivan Zelenov, scored to make it 3:0 in the 38 minute, like his twin brother a newly naturalised Austrian. 62 seconds later, Vasily Zlenov was on hand to seal the 4:0 final score.

In the end, the Spartans did well to lose 0:4, as Austria pushed for 5:0, but it remained four goals. They now face hosts Latvia, who have entered two teams in the President Cup, on Saturday at 15:00.

Head Coach Philipp Pinter: “It was a mixed performance with a relatively weak start. Sloppy errors and misplaced passes showed that many players had not yet had a game under their belts. That improved after the first period. The interplay, as well as our build-up play and transition game, worked well and quickly. This allowed us to put the Spartans under pressure. It was an ideal start to prepare us for tomorrow. Latvia are a significantly better opponent. They are here at full strength, while we are missing quite a few players. But it is also a good opportunity for others to showcase themselves and establish where they stand in their development compared with a top nation such as Latvia.”

PRESIDENT CUP RIGA (LAT)

15–18 August, Riga (LAT)
Website: https://lhf.lv/en#noportal

Austria schedule

Austria vs. Castleton Spartans (USA) 4:0 (1:0, 3:0, 0:0)
Fri, 16 August 2024, 15:00 (16:00 local time)
Austria goalscorers: Vasily Zelenov (4, 39), Felix Haiböck (24), Raffael Aigner (38)

Latvia Red vs. Austria
Sat, 17 August 2024, 15:00 (16:00 local time)

SQUAD