Viborg still want to make their mark

Having lost all three matches in the first half of their campaign in the Women´s EHF Champions League Group Matches, Viborg HK´s chances to proceed to the Main Round – or even to continue in the Cup Winners´ Cup from third position in their group – only exist in theory, and they are well aware of that in the club who won the EHF Champions League in 2006, 2009 and 2010.

A disappointing 30:34 defeat to Thüringer HC in Germany started the negative series for Viborg in Group D, before an extremely long scoring break in the second half of the home match against Budućnost resulted in a 20:26 defeat in an otherwise equal game.

Finally, on Sunday, the home game against Zvezda Zvenigorod ended in a narrow 28:27 defeat.

“Of course, our chance to advance is only very theoretical, with three teams on four points and us on zero. However, I have noticed obvious improvement in our play along the way even though it has not resulted in any points yet,” Viborg´s head coach Martin Albertsen told ehfCL.com.

“Actually, I have spotted improvements in all aspects of the team – in the goalkeeper position, in our defence and in our attack – and I find that we have proved that we have a part to play in the Champions League. Against Zvezda, who I think have one of the best teams in Europe, we might as well have won”, added the Viborg coach who is in no doubt that injuries have been a major reason for the poor results so far.

“Missing Marit Malm Frafjord – a World champion and Olympic champion – has been a serious blow to our central defence, and missing Amanda Kurtovic, a further World and Olympic champion – has also been a severe handicap, not to mention Grit Jurack´s career stop.

However, I think we can still make our mark in the tournament. As I said before, I find that we have improved during the Group Matches so far, and the spirit in the team is still fine. Now it is a question of at least getting some points in the group. The thought of finishing with zero points is simply unbearable,” Martin Albertsen told ehfCL.com