”It’s only halftime in the finals“

Russian champion Zvezda Zvenigorod won the first leg of the Women’s CL final by 25:24 at home. Now the Austrian side have the chance to play on home court, in Wiener Neustadt on Saturday. Hypo’s German goalkeeper, Sabine Englert, talks about her hopes before this decisive match.

Eurohandball.com: Do you think the result of the first match was an important step to reach the title, or do you think it might be dangerous?

Englert: We have a good basis, nothing more, nothing less. We will not take the match easy, because when you look at the first match, you realise that everything is possible. We had a five-goal lead at halftime and then Zvezda went four goals ahead.

Eurohandball.com: What chances do you have now?

Englert: It’s halftime now and we are one goal behind. But we have the advantage that we will play at home. Nevertheless, I still believe that the chances are 50:50.

Eurohandball.com: In the men’s finals THW Kiel were favourites after the first match, but Ciudad Real won the title. Is it a warning signal for Hypo?

Englert: Most of our players watched this match, so maybe it’s better for us that we will not start with an advantage of a few goals. But this doesn’t mean that we didn’t want to win in Russia.

Eurohandball.com: Was it a big disappointment to lose in Chekhov after leading by five after 30 minutes?

Englert: We didn’t play as we should in the second half. But it was very important that we could come back to one goal.

Eurohandball.com: What will Hypo be the tactics of Hypo on Saturday? Will you start carefully or will you play at full speed?

Englert: We play at home, so we can’t be careful. But we shouldn’t take too much risk as we only have to level one goal, not five or six.

Eurohandball.com: Imagine you lift the CL trophy on Saturday, what would this mean for you?

Englert: The CL title means a lot to me. I changed to Hypo to have the chance to win the Champions League and it would be like a dream come true to lift the trophy in my first year.