12.04.2011, 03:42
We can stop their weapons

Budućnost's right wing Jovanka Radičević is full of confidence before the second leg in the semifinal against Larvik.

We can stop their weapons

After the first leg semifinal, played in Norway, Budućnost are only one step away from their first EHF Women’s Champions League final in the club’s history.

They don’t consider proceeding in the competition despite having lost with a five goal margin against Larvik HK a "Mission Impossible" in front of their infamous home crowd in Podgorica’s "Morača" hall.

But the Montenegrin Champions are aware that in order to reach the finals, they will have to play much better in attack.

Update 13 April 2011: Also in the second game Budućnost will be playing without suspended Katarina Bulatović, their best scorer in the team. This was confirmed by coach Dragan Adzic. 

Budućnost’s right wing Jovanka Radičević was one of their best players, scoring seven times. She told ehfCL.com about the defeat in Norway and about the upcoming decision in the second leg match against Larvik.

ehfCL.com: Until minute 38 you were only down by a single goal (17:16). What happened then?

Jovanka Radičević: I think the final result is slightly too high, it does not reflect the game. We deserved a better result. And you are right, at the result of 17:16 for Larvik we experienced a downfall, and Larvik took advantage of. At one point they even had a seven-goal lead.

What encourages me before the return match is that Larvik proved not to be much better than us in any element of the game, and that we are able to deal with them. In fact, only our own mistakes allowed our rivals to gain the advantage.

Of course, Larvik are still favourites in this semifinal, because they are a very good team with players who have won all possible titles. Maybe it was their experience that turned the first match.

Jovanka Radičević: We managed to stop their line player Heidi Løke, who has a reputation of having scored 20 goals in the Norwegian league a couple of times, and scores more than 10 per EHF Champions League match.

Against us she only scored twice, one goal was from a penalty. So, we proved that we can stop their best weapon.

ehfCL.com: Do you consider Larvik’s five-goal difference beyond your reach?

Jovanka Radičević: No goal difference can be enough in those kind of matches. Even if we would have won by five goals, nothing would be decided yet. So no, these five goals are an advantage that can be recouped.

ehfCL.com: What will your success recipe look like on Sunday?

Jovanka Radičević: We must reduce our mistakes to a minimum. In Norway, we stopped their counter attacks, which are one of their key weapons. In attack we scored a lot of easy goals from prepared tactical play situations. For us one thing is clear: Larvik is not a team without weaknesses.

Jovanka Radičević: In Norway I didn’t get the feeling that we were playing a semifinal in the EHF Champions League. Surely at home in the "Morača" hall, the atmosphere will be quite another way.

We know that Larvik this season haven’t performed differently in their away games compared to their home games. But I am sure that we can improve clearly compared to the first game.

Can Jovanka Radičević’s prediction come true and the Montenegrin champions turn the fixture and go through to the final? Make sure you watch the game as it will be broadcast as a free-of-charge live web stream on ehfTV.com.

EHF Women’s Champions League, semifinals, second leg
Sunday 17 April 2011, 19:30 hrs (local time)
Budućnost Podgorica (MNE) vs. Larvik HK (NOR)

ehfTV.com is the official Internet TV platform of the European Handball Federation and offers free live streaming as well as a video on demand service.

TEXT: Saša Jončić