“Playing against my former club will be special”

While her younger brother Jerry is playing for the Swedish national team at the EHF EURO 2018 in Croatia, Cassandra Tollbring is preparing for a somewhat special occasion.

The 24-year-old left back and centre back, who joined Norwegian side Larvik ahead of this season, is going to play against her former club this coming Saturday.

In Group of the Women´s EHF Cup, Larvik are playing away against Swedish club H65 Höörs HK, whom Cassandra Tllbring represented from 2014 until she joined Larvik last summer.

“Of course, it will be very special to play against the club where I played for three years, and where I achieved so many triumphs,” she says. “I haven't really got used to the thought yet, but you can be sure that it will not influence my wish to win.

“I want to win every time I enter the court, even if it is against my former club, for whom I still have feelings,” Tollbring tells eurohandball.com.

No major changes

Changing from Sweden and Höör to Norway and Larvik has not brought about any major changes for the versatile backcourt player.

“It has been rather easy for me to get settled in,” she says. “The biggest difference is probably the fact that we play faster here and score more goals.

“We score around 30 goals on average in our games, while I was used to around 23 per match while playing for Höör,” says Tollbring. However she did not see her first half season in Larvik as a walk in the park, despite the fact that she settled in fairly easily.

“We had a very inconsistent autumn here in Larvik,” Tollbring thinks. “We saw that our top level was very high, but also that our lowest level was indeed very low.

“This resulted in some unexpected defeats, to say the least, but this was probably natural, considering the fact that we have many new players in the team this season.

“In fact, there were only three or four players from last season in the team when we started this season.”

Youth is also something Larvik is contending with.

“We have numerous players who were born in 1996 or 97, and it obviously takes some time for them to get the necessary experience at this level,” says Tollbring, “However, after the New Year we're beginning to find stability, as our team is becoming better integrated,” she adds.

Quarter-final as first objective

At present, Larvik are second in the Norwegian league, just behind Vipers Kristiansand, while the team opened the Women's EHF Cup Group Phase with an 28:23 win at home against Romanian club H. C. Zalau and a 21:21 draw in the Czech Republic against DHK Banik Most.

“I think we can be rather content with our performances in the EHF Cup and, of course, by being able to follow Vipers in the national league,” says Tollbring. “In the EHF Cup, I think we should be able to be one of the two teams who go on from our group. That should be our first objective, I think,” she says before the visit to her former club.

Höör are currently second in Group D behind Larvik after a 28:27 win at home against Banik Most and a 24:21 defeat away to Zalau.

“I think we have a very good chance to win in Höör. They still have a good team, but so have we, and I feel we are getting better all the time.

“As I said, it will be special for me, but I still want to win!” says Tollbring.