19.11.2015, 12:29
Larvik and Baia Mare in battle for main round points

GROUP A PREVIEW: All main round teams have been found, but there is still much at stake in the last round

Larvik and Baia Mare in battle for main round points

Ahead of the last match day in Group A, it is already a fact that Rostov-Don, Larvik and HCM Baia Mare proceed to the Women's EHF Champions League Main Round.

However, this does not mean that nothing is at stake in the last matches on Friday and Saturday.

In Norway, Larvik are striving to increase their number of points for the main round from the current two, while their visitors, Baia Mare are struggling to even take points with them to the next stage.

GROUP A

RK Krim Ljubljana (SLO) vs Rostov-Don (RUS)
Friday 20 November, 18:00 hrs local time, live on ehfTV

This is a match, in which basically only the honour is at stake for both teams.

Rostov-Don are already sure to win the group and to take a maximum of eight points with them to the main round, while Krim are sure to finish last in the group.

However, there is no doubt that Rostov-Don are ambitious enough to want to secure a further win in order to go through the group without losing a single point, while the motivation for Krim will be to finish the group phase well in front of their own spectators and possibly revenge the 35:25 defeat from their first meeting with Rostov-Don, and thus erase the zero in their points account.

The fact, that Krim's Champions League campaign is ending Friday evening, does not mean that their European adventure is ending.

Head coach Marta Bon's young Slovenian team will continue in the Cup Winners' Cup, where they will be among the Last16.

Larvik (NOR) vs HCM Baia Mare (ROU)
Saturday 21 November, 18:30 hrs local time, live on ehfTV

Both teams have qualified for the main round already, so the match in the Arena Larvik will entirely be a battle for the second place in the group, and more importantly, about taking as many points with them to the main round as possible.

To Baia Mare, it will be even be a matter of taking points with them to the main round at all, as the Romanian visitors are without any main round points so far.

The four points, they have earned, have all been earned against Krim Mercator who will not proceed to the main round.

To Larvik, it is a question of increasing the number of main round points from the current two, which they got through their 22:20 win away against Baia Mare three weeks ago.

Larvik coach Tor Odvar Moen is optimistic regarding his team's chances to take another win Saturday evening.

“I think we deserved more than we got in Rostov-Don last Saturday (26:25 for Rostov-Don) and I am not only talking about our missed penalty shot at the end. I think we can take our fine performance in Russia with us to the match against Baia Mare,” says Tor Odvar Moen who also finds reason for optimism in the fact that his injury list seems be reducing.

“We have reasons to hope to have Amanda Kurtovic back and also Nora Mørk, while it should be a fact that Tine Stange is back for Saturday. Thea Mørk is not fit yet, though, and Anja Hammerseng-Edin's ankle is not fit for handball yet either,” explains the Larvik coach.

“There is no doubt that the match is crucial to both sides with regards to taking points with us to the main round, and I see our chances on Saturday as good.

“Since our opening defeat at home against Rostov-Don (27:21) we have improved a lot. I think a big part of the reason for that defeat was the fact that we had no international opposition in our pre-season phase. We have had that now, and we have seen the results of that, I think.

“Therefore, I think we have a good chance to take another Saturday,” says Tor Odvar Moen.

TEXT: Peter Bruun / br