Enjoy the pressure

In spite of missing the ”match ball” to qualify for the main round with two rounds from the group stage on top spot, Kenneth Jensen, head coach of Ikast/Brande EH, is still optimistic.

Jensen can be calm. The overtime 7-meter goal against Győr this weekend secured the first place of Ikast for now as the Danes are one goal better than Győr in the direct encounters.

However, the schedule of the Danes is difficult. Two away matches are still waiting for the team. They will visit Zvezda Zvenigorod and Kometal Skopje and now they still need to make points. Eurohandball.com talked to coach Kenneth Jensen.

Eurohandball.com: Your team won by 27-25 in Győr during the autumn, but now you lost 26-27 at home. Can you explain it?

Kenneth Jensen: We were not good enough in defence this time and in the first half we had too few saves from our goalkeeper. In addition, we did not shoot cleverly enough against Pálinger.

Eurohandball.com: Your players also seemed to take too much risk in attack in passing. Do you agree?

Kenneth Jensen: At least there were some situations where the match was very close and we chose the wrong solutions. But that did not only apply to our attack, also to our defence.

Eurohandball.com: You missed a “match ball” against Győr. You could have won the group already, but now two difficult away matches will decide about the destiny of your team…

Kenneth Jensen: Obviously, the odds have changed and now it will be harder for us to go on. Nevertheless, I still believe that we can take the first or second position. We still aim for the group victory. We simply have to make points in Russia or Macedonia now.

Eurohandball.com: You are also under pressure in the Danish league, struggling to qualify for the championship play-offs. How can you cope with battling on two fronts?

Kenneth Jensen: We will have to focus entirely on our next match all the time. Therefore, there is absolutely no doubt that right now our minds are only on the away match against KIF Vejen in the Danish league on Wednesday. Not until we played that match can we focus on the game in Russia.

Eurohandball.com: But you have a very tight programme these weeks. After the match in Vejen you will fly straight to Russia…

Kenneth Jensen: You are right that the matches are close right now. However, these matches are what we have been dreaming of. Matches like these worth training and playing handball for. So really, I think it is rather positive that we have so many matches within such a short time and we just have to accept that we are in a situation where we cannot afford looking too far ahead in any of the competitions. That is why I do not think that we will have any problems focusing on just one match at the time.