Wisla Plock aggression secures win against Elverum

In the only Group D match on Saturday's schedule, Orlen Wisla Plock managed to make the most of their home advantage and recorded a crucial win against Elverum Handball. Following Dinamo Bucuresti’s win on Thursday over Ademar Leon, Plock join the Romanian side with 10 points on top of group D.

• Elverum have never beaten Plock in four head to head games
• Plock right back Ziga Mlakar was top scorer with eight goals
• Only two points separate the first four teams in the group standings

GROUP D
Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) vs Elverum Handball (NOR) 30:28  (17:15)

There was much at stake ahead of this match, and the home side looked a bit nervous at the beginning. Elverum had the upper hand in the opening sequence and profited from an efficient back court performance with goals from Sigvaldi Gudjohnsson also coming from the wing.

However in the last third of the first half, the hosts took over the initiative and started to find their rhythm.

Ziga Mlakar was the main firepower for Plock with eight goals, despite 10 missed efforts lowering his overall efficiency. Mlaka, together with Ondrej Zdrahala, scored important goals at the right moments while Renato Sulic kept the away defence busy on the line and contributed six goals.

Magnus Frederiksen and Gudjohnsson were the biggest weapons for Elverum and the Norwegian team were close to equalling the score on number of occasions in the second half, but failed to make the final step.

Adam Morawski also showed his class with important saves for Plock when it mattered the most in the second half. The match was dramatic until the final whistle, but Wisla Plock always found the answer to Elverum's pressure.

Elverum were more efficient in attack and in shot efficiency but the hosts were more often on the ball. Elverum scored seven goals with one man extra compared to only two by Plock, but the home side were more efficient with one man down.

The visitors' coach Michael Apelgren said he was surprised his men failed to win either of their matches against Wisla Plock this season.

"In these two games we were very close to Wisla and it’s a little bit suprising, that we gained zero points. Despite the defeat, I am satisfied with our performance today. Wisla did a lot of smart and clever things to win this game," he said.