End to injury worries and a new pathway for Krim?

Krim Mercator are back on track. After a tough December, Krim started to work on a tactical plan for Main Round of the Womens EHF Champions League, and as an added bonus, a number of injured players are returning to fitness.

The Slovenian club had a number of difficulties at the beginning of the season. With a depleted squad, the team worked really hard to scrape into the Main Round after a win over HC Podravka Vegeta on the last match day.

The preparations for the Main Round began in the middle of December. "It was a tough month, because we worked almost the entire time on physical strength.

“We are still working on our fitness, but the first tactical preparations are underway," explains Slovenian left wing Tamara Mavsar.

Krim will begin their Women's EHF Champions League Main Round campaign against Zvezda Zvenigorod on 3 February. "We have already been given the first video tapes and began analyzing. We have enough time to prepare."

Expectations are higher than at the beginning of the season: "There is no easy opponent in the Main Round. I am sure we can beat everyone if we improve in our defence," adds Mavsar.

Krim have also had some problems in attack, scoring fewer goals, with 151, than any team left in the competition, except Budućnost. "Plenty of injuries disrupted our plans at the beginning and we had to improvise all the time.

“Our problem was, at least one player was injured at each training session."

Nevertheless, Krim Mercator should be in better shape soon, with Susanne Müller returning to fitness, as will Andrea Penezić and Jelena Grubišić, while it is still unknown when Maja Zrnec and Daniela Piedade, after suffering a stroke in September, will return to the court.