Edin: Tough challenge ahead

When Larvik HK take on Krim Mercator from Ljubljana in the Larvik Arena for the first leg of the two teams´ EHF Champions League semi-final tie Saturday afternoon, the Norwegian champions are expecting a tough challenge. At least if you ask playmaker Anja Edin.

“I do not know that much about Krim at this point, but I have played against some of their players, and so have other players in our team, and what I do know is that they have many good players, and considering their impressive performance in the tournament this far, there is no doubt that it will be a tough match Saturday,” Anja Edin told ehfcl.com.

When playing the first leg of a two match tie at home, teams often speculate in the size of the home win in order to boost their chances in the away match, but Anja Edin, who has scored 50 goals for Larvik so far in the tournament, does not want to spend many thoughts on that subject.

“I have really not given it that much thought, and I do not want to. To me it is a question of simply focusing on winning the match Saturday, and then to win the return match too,” said the 30-year-old Norway international who was awarded the most valuable player at the EHF EURO 2012 in Serbia last December, as the national team took the silver medal.

However, she is in no doubt what will be the deciding key to success for her team in the upcoming semi-finals. “We will need to stop their shooters, and in general our defence will have to function at its best – but as I said, I expect it to be tight anyhow,” Anja Edin told ehfcl.com.

Wednesday evening Larvik had a fine dress rehearsal for the upcoming semi-finals, as they won 27:21 at home against Byåsen who are usually just as sure to be number two in Norway, as Larvik are to be number one.

In that game Edin was rested, while another Larvik key player, Linn Jørum Sulland may have tanked a bit additional self-confidence, being most scoring player in the match with seven goals.

The win did not have any significance, when it comes to the standings in the league, though, as Larvik have won that once again already, still without having lost a single point during the season.

The first leg of the EHF Champions League semi-final tie between Larvik and Krim is starting at 15.15h CET in the Larvik Arena and can be watched live on ehfTV.com.