29.05.2007, 11:11
GOG Clinch Danish CL Place

The Danish Championship ended with a GOG victory against Viborg in the final. Gudme will represent Denmark in the CL next season.

GOG Clinch Danish CL Place

GOG Svendborg will be the only team representing Denmark in the Men’s Champions League in the 2007/08 season. The Danish results in the last years of the competition mean that only the champions will represent Denmark next season.

On Thursday night GOG took that place with a 33-32 away victory over Viborg HK in the second leg of the championship finals. GOG ended only third in the league but they caused a surprise and eliminated title holder Kolding in three equal semi-finals.

Viborg won in the other semi-final against the winner of the league, FC København Håndbold, which was also a shock result.

In the finals, however, there was no doubt about the better team. After a 30-24 home win in the first match, GOG finished the job in front of 2,650 spectators in Viborg Stadionhal – even though the hosts managed to crawl quite close at the end..

Viborg fight in vain

Viborg have done everything they could in their first championship final ever, but it was not enough against GOG. The new champions were simply better at the two matches. At the second match GOG soon took a five goal lead and were leading by four goals at half time, 17-13.

The pattern continued after the break with GOG increasing their lead to six goals and to seven by the middle of the second half. It was eight before an impressive finish by Viborg who came as close as one goal a couple of times, but GOG managed to decide the matter at the end and could lift the championship trophy.

"I’ve been dreaming about this during the entire season and I think we formed an extremely strong unit. It was decisive at the end of the season and now we are going to represent Denmark in the Champions League,” GOG coach Carsten Albrektsen told Eurohandball.com.

There will be no Champions League for Albrektsen personally, as he is leaving the club for Bjerringbro/Silkeborg.

It will be the sixth CL season for GOG. In their previous five seasons they never made it further than the last 16, just as this season.

Viborg, on the other hand, will have to be satisfied by representing Denmark in the Challenge Cup together with Aarhus GF who ended fifth in the league.

TEXT: Peter Bruun