In the EHF European League Women, Herning-Ikast Handball had been on a four-match winning run before a trip to Togliatti, but the Danish team still managed to extend it.

After winning the quarter-final first-leg 31:29 in a very hard-fought match, Herning have a good chance of progressing to the semi-final. However, nothing is yet lost for Lada, who will travel to Denmark with the hope of turning things around.

QUARTER-FINAL, FIRST LEG

Handball Club Lada (RUS) vs Herning-Ikast Handbold (DEN) 29:31 (17:17)

• the two teams scored as many as 34 goals combined in the first half, staying level at 17:17
• after the break, the scoring efficiency of both teams went down; the battle was still tight but the visitors were dominant in the last ten minutes
• with one minute to go, Herning-Ikast led 31:27, which was the biggest difference between the teams throughout the match, yet Lada closed the gap
• Helene Fauske scored eight goals for Herning, while Viktoryia Shamanouskaya netted six times for Lada
• the second-leg match will be played next Saturday, 3 April, in Ikast

Norwegians make crucial impact

Similarly to many previous matches, Herning-Ikast relied heavily on their Norwegian back court players, particularly centre back Helene Fauske and right back Stine Skogrand, who both made a telling contribution in Togliatti.

They combined for 15 goals, almost half of their team’s tally, and contributed a lot to Herning-Ikast’s victory.