After a one-year absence from the DELO EHF Champions League, IK Sävehof opened their 2021/22 campaign with a narrow home win against Krim Mercator Ljubljana.

The Swedish side fought back after a poor start, and Nina Koppang's goal 20 seconds from the buzzer earned them a 29:28 victory.

GROUP B
IK Sävehof (SWE) vs Krim Mercator Ljubljana (SLO) 29:28 (11:13)

• Krim led 4:0 when right back Nina Koppang scored Sävehof's first goal almost 11 minutes into the match
• led by Koppang and left back Jamina Roberts, the Swedish team drew level many times, but only took their first lead in the 38th minute, 17:16
• Roberts scored 10 goals for the hosts, while her team mate Sofie Börjesson recorded 12 saves
• Tjaša Stanko, who returned to Krim from Metz in summer, stood out in the Slovenian side with seven goals
• Sävehof will travel to Norway to face Vipers Kristiansand next week, while Krim will host Györi Audi ETO KC

New-look Krim need time

The two-time DELO EHF Champions League winners declared returning to the top of the European handball as their goal for the next few seasons. For this objective, Krim have signed a number of experienced players such as Andrea Lekic, Dragana Cvijic, Allison Pineau and Katarina Krpez-Slezák.

However, this new version of Krim probably need more time. In Sweden, they looked more like a bunch of individuals than a united team, which resulted in their defeat.