Title holders Vipers Kristiansand were seen as strong favourites in the match against the DELO EHF Champions League debutants Kastamonu Belediyesi GSK, and the in-form Norwegian team proved too strong for their opponents, winning 35:24.

GROUP B
Kastamonu Belediyesi GSK (TUR) vs Vipers Kristiansand (NOR) 24:35 (12:18)

• Vipers took an early 4:0 lead before Nurceren Akgun Goktepe scored the home team's first goal in the eigth minute
• relying on 7 against 6 tactics, Kastamonu improved their attack, but the visitors enjoyed a six-goal advantage at the break
• the Turkish team tried to fight after the restart, yet the title holders maintained control of the match and took a 30:20 lead with 10 minutes to go
• Vipers earned their sixth straight win in the competition and are still second-placed in the group with 16 points
• Kastamonu lost their 10th match in a row and still have to wait for their first ever points at this level

Debelic stepped up

After Cristina Neagu's 11 goals against BV Borussia 09 Dortmund a few hours earlier, Nora Mork needed to net at least 10 times to return on the top of the competition's scoring chart. But it was not her best game, as the Vipers right back converted just two of her seven shots.

However, other players stepped up – in particular, Ana Debelic, who scored seven goals from as many attempts and became top scorer of the game. Her teammates Ragnhild Dahl and Sunniva Naes Andersen also made solid contributions to the victory, each netting six times each.

Post-match quotes

Ole Gustav Gjekstad, Vipers Kristiansand head coach:

“After these problems that we have with traveling and Covid-19 issues, we are very happy for the victory. Yes, we have this problem unfortunately, like every team who had it, but it is our turn now. And I hope this situation lasts no longer.

“Last year we were not the favourite team to win the EHF Champions League. For this season we will do our best to be in the second position. And we are planning to be at least in the quarter-finals for the play-offs”

Milena Raicevic, Kastamonu centre back:

“In my whole career there is not a season that we lose all the games that we had. For the other matches we need to be better and it must be seen by everyone that we play with a good performance. For example, we played well for just a short period at the match, so we need to work more to be better.”