Sola HK, whose round 1 match had been postponed last week, opened the group stage of the EHF European League Women with a 39:32 win at ES Besancon Feminin.

GROUP A
ES Besancon Feminin (FRA) vs Sola HK (NOR) 32:39 (16:22) 

• Besancon led 3:1 early in the game, but then Sola claimed the initiative, as Camilla Herrem netted four times already by minute 7
• the Norwegian team hit the 20-goal mark already in the first half, boasting a 81 per cent shot efficiency before the break
• Besancon closed the gap to 31:28 with 12 minutes to go, but following a timeout called by Steffen Stegavik, Sola enjoyed a 4:0 run
• experienced Herrem was Sola’s top scorer with nine goals
• while Sola have two points, Besancon have now lost both group matches so far, conceding as many as 77 goals

Granier’s impact not enough

Lucie Granier, who recently won a silver medal with France at the Women’s World Championship 2021, is one of Besancon’s leaders, and she proved it in the match against Sola.

The 22-year-old enjoyed a good individual performance, scoring 11 goals from 13 attempts, yet her impact was not enough as Besancon had big problems in defence and suffered their second straight defeat.

Post-match quotes

Steffen Stormo Stegavik, Sola HK head coach: “Our team played an incredibly well and good game. The game was a big win for Sola in our first game in European League group phase.”

Kristina Sirum Novak, Sola HK back: “It was a game with fast handball, and a great battle with many goals. Despite some technical errors, we managed to bring two important points from France.”