No mistakes for FC Midtjylland as Jörgensen shines

The Ikast-Brande Arena is starting to look more and more like a stronghold in the Women’s EHF Champions League, as FC Midtjylland earned their fifth home win of the season.

After CSM Bucuresti, Rostov and Gyor all lost in the Group phase and Esbjerg was drubbed in the first game of the main round, it was RK Krim Mercator’s turn to feel the heat. FCM bounced back after a slow start and earned a 28:19 win.

• The Danish side is now second in the group, with eight points, one more than Larvik, who will meet Gyor tomorrow
• Stine Jörgensen enjoyed an impressive last 15 minutes, scoring five of her seven goals in the last part of the game, to bring FCM their fifth home win of the season
• Krim started the group with six points, but after three consecutive defeats is now at risk of losing a quarter-final berth

GROUP 2

FC Midtjylland (DEN) vs RK Krim Mercator (SLO) 28:19 (13:11)

FC Midtjylland knew that after a superb run of home matches another win was the only option against RK Krim Mercator.

But the game was also do-or-die for the Slovenian team, who jumped to a 2:0 lead after six minutes, thanks to a stout defence.

With four technical faults in only nine minutes, FCM was slowly realising that the game against Krim, who lost their previous two outings, was more difficult than expected, as Mirjeta Bajramoska started running riot through the Danish defence.

A 3:0 FCM partial between the 18th and 22nd minutes saw the game turn on its head, with the Danish side taking the lead for the first time, thanks to an impressive run from Norwegian back Veronica Kristiansen.

It was Kristiansen who kept inspiring FCM, as the Danish side cleaned up their attack and stopped making costly mistakes, to boast a 13:11 lead at half-time.

Jörgensen finishes off Krim with Nordic coolness

With Stine Jörgensen, who scored 22 goals in the first two games of the main round phase, having an unexpected off day in the first part of the game, FCM relied heavily on Veronica Kristiansen and Louise Burgaard. The duo guided their team to a 5:3 partial to throw off the second half.

There was no answer from Krim, who stumbled upon technical faults, bad passes and misses, as the four-goal lead status-quo was maintained by FCM without any pressure in the second half.

A late timeout taken by Krim looked to be the ultimate solution for Uros Bregar’s side, but the Slovenian side collapsed in the last part of the game.

Their lack of depth and solutions in attack was Krim’s undoing. The guests scored only one goal in the last 13 minutes, with FCM never looking back.

Ultimately, Krim had no answer for Jörgensen, who came back into form and scored five of her seven goals in the last 15 minutes, to cap off another impressive win for FCM, 28:19.

The Danish side is now second in the group, with eight points, one more than Larvik. Meanwhile Krim could be out of the top four if CSM Bucuresti beats Esbjerg on Sunday.