(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Julen Aguinagalde did the star act for Spain and scored four crucial goals within a span of six minutes to help the defending champions script a fighting 28-25 win over hosts Qatar in a pulsating Group A match at Lusail Multipurpose Hall here yesterday.
Spain were down by a goal with six minutes to go for the final hooter, but the 32-year-old Aguinagalde ripped open the rival defence to score the equaliser to make it 23-all and thereafter scored three more goals to give the Spaniards a fighting win.
The victory means Spain remained at the top of Group A with four wins out of four, and the tournament's hosts suffered their first defeat in four outings
"This was a great game, I think everyone could see that," Manuel Cadenas, coach of Spain said. "When two great teams really show themselves, things are often decided in the last minutes, and that was what happened today, where it was decided after we managed to score three goals in a row at the end."
Spanish right-winger Victor Tomas said a change in tactics in the second-half worked for his team.
"We had problems in the first-half, where we could not run our counter attacks. We like it best when we can be tough in the defence and run our counter attacks. We succeeded better with that in the second half," Tomas said.
"I am particularly happy with this win as I am sure that not many teams can beat them and I would certainly not like to meet them again until the final," he said.
Qatar coach Valero Rivera said the defending champions were deserving winners.
"I think Spain deserved the win. They were the better team at the end," Rivera said. "However, having the win within reach for the first 50 minutes is a success in itself for a team like ours but at the end, Spain deserved the win more than we did."
Both teams had already qualified for the knock-out round before their evening clash at Lusail,
still a lot was at stake. Finishing on top of the group, which will mean a potentially easier opponent in the pre-quarter-final, was high on the agenda for both teams.
The defending champions began with a flourish taking a 3-1 lead, six minutes into match and increased it to 5-2 six minutes later.
The hosts on the other hand found the target at regular intervals and did not allow their opponents to widen the lead keeping the goal difference to just two.
Coach Valero Rivera's boys backed by a vociferous crowd cut the goal difference to one in the 23rd minute and finally were able to draw level with three minutes to go for the final whistle and managed to take the lead for the first time, with two minutes left for the first-half at 9-8.
After a low-scoring, but well-played firs-half with great goalkeeper performances at both ends of the court, Qatar could even take a two-goal lead with them to half time, the score 10-8 in their favour.
Qatar, having scored the last four goals of the first half, continued their scoring streak by increasing their lead to 11-8 on the first attack in the second half, and that three-goal margin was defended successfully for the next five minutes before Spain came close again.
In a second half, in which the goals fell at a considerably higher pace than before the break, Qatar still had the lead, but now only at one goal, and so the game went on, changing between and stand-off and a one goal lead for Qatar, until Victor Tomas gave Spain their first lead at 25-24 with less than five minutes remaining.
With less than two minutes to go Spain got two goals, 27-25, which proved decisive.
Left-wing Valero Rivera, son of Qatar coach, scored seven goals for Spain, while right back Zarko Markovic hit the net 10 times for Qatar.
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