09.05.2014, 02:20
Zvezda ready to climb a very steep mountain

MATCH PREVIEW: Russian side hopes that home advantage will inspire a second leg turnaround and prevent Viborg from taking their first Cup Winners’ Cup triumph

Zvezda ready to climb a very steep mountain

Thanks to being nine goals up after the first leg, Viborg HK are obvious favourites to win the Women´s Cup Winners´ Cup for the first time.

Meanwhile, Zvezda Zvenigorod have not given up on catching up with the 31:22 deficit when the two teams meet for the second leg in Chekhov on Sunday.

Minimising the number of errors compared to the first match is part of the Russian plan for a comeback.

Women´s Cup Winners´ Cup Final, second leg
Zvezda Zvenigorod (RUS) vs Viborg HK (DEN)
Sunday 11 May, 16.45 local time - First leg 22:31

The nine-goal lead from the first match in Viborg Stadionhal last Sunday makes Viborg HK huge favourites to win the Cup Winners´ Cup for the first time in their history, after winning the Women´s EHF Champions League and the Women´s EHF Cup three times each.

However, Zvezda have not given up  hope before the return match in the Sport Hall “Olimpiyskiy” in Chekhov on Sunday afternoon.

“In their home game, Viborg showed themselves as a very organised and cool team, not allowing us to play our game. But we also made a lot of errors ourselves,” Zvezda coach Alexandr Revva told eurohandball.com.

“Nine goals will be very difficult to catch up with, but we will strive towards that. In the home game we will focus on defending better and reduce the number of unforced errors on our part to a minimum,” Revva added.

Viborg’s centre back Mouna Chebbah believes that the nine-goal lead will be enough for her team to take the trophy.

“Russian teams are good at home, but if we can play like we did in the first match, I am 100% sure that we will not lose by ten goals,” the Tunisian international said.

“We need to maintain the same energy and concentration as the home match. If we do I think we can take the cup. The most important thing for us is to play without stress, and I believe we can do that after the win in the first match,” concluded Chebbah.

TEXT: Peter Bruun / cor