2006 Women's World Championship – Portugal
Belarus and Slovakia victorious on first day (FIVB)
05/04/2005
Santo Tirso, Portugal, May 4, 2005 – Portuguese Volleyball
fans witnessed an incredible first day's play at the
2006 Women’s World Championship first round tournament
(Europe Pool B) in Santo Tirso, Portugal on Wednesday
with Belarus coming from one set down to beat Slovenia
3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-16, 25-21) before Slovakia upset
the dreams of the local team by beating Portugal 3-1
(25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 25-13). Austria had the bye.
In the first match of the day, Belarus pulled off a
superb comeback after losing the first set. Both teams
took a while to adjust to the pressure of World
Championship Volleyball but once Belarus found their
rhythm they were too tough to stop. Pic: Slovenia tries to beat the
Belarus defence
“The first day is always very difficult,” Belarus coach
Vladimir Kozlov said. “We played last year against
Slovenia and we lost but I knew we were a better team.”
“Today we played very well but I think we did not show
our full potential,” Belarus captain Askana Kavalchuk
said.
Meanwhile, the second match was a game Portuguese fans
had been waiting for months for, the chance to see their
national women’s team in action on the international
stage, and despite the defeat they left encouraged by
their performance.
Portugal are going through a rebuilding stage, looking
ahead to the future and played very well for a young
team, especially after tying the game at 1-1. Not
daunted by the occasion, Portugal took the game to
Slovakia but in the end the Eastern Europeans were too
clinical and used their experienced when it mattered
most to eventually seal the victory in nearly two hours.
Day two of the 2006 Women’s World Championship first
round tournament (Europe Pool B) sees Slovenia play
Slovakia at 16:00 (GMT) before Austria take on Belarus
at 18:30 (GMT). Portugal receive the rest day.
The winner of the tournament will head to Croatia for a
second round tournament with the hosts, Serbia and
Montenegro and the Czech Republic while the
second-placed team will book a second round spot to face
Greece, France and the Ukraine in Greece.
