25.11.2018, 08:14
Cold-blooded Elverum earn another win at the buzzer

GROUP D REVIEW: For the second week in a row, Elverum earned a 29:28 win in the dying seconds of the game to keep up their hopes for a play-off berth

Cold-blooded Elverum earn another win at the buzzer

The maths do not lie and Elverum needed a little bit of a miracle to push for a play-off position. They were down one goal with two minutes to go against Thun, but came back to earn the two points.

Elverum now need to beat Leon next week but also need Thun to beat Dinamo Bucuresti in order to progress.

• Thun missed their chance to earn their first-ever VELUX EHF Champions League win
• Swedish right back Lukas Sandell scored nine times for Elverum
• Elverum have won four out of five home games

GROUP D
Elverum Handball (NOR) vs Wacker Thun (SUI) 29:28 (15:16)

It was a dreadful first half for Elverum, whose flurry of turnovers hampered their efforts to score against Thun, who were the only team to have lost all of their first eight matches in the EHF Champions League.

The hosts only led for three minutes, but a 6:2 run for Thun, who saw six different players score, reduced the usually deafening Terningen Arena to silence.

While Swedish right back Lukas Sandell managed to score five times for the Norwegian side in the first half, Elverum could only cut the gap thanks to a 5:1 run in the final six minutes.

It took almost five minutes for Elverum to score their first goal in the second half and that only highlighted the struggles the Norwegian side had to get back in front against their opponents. They took the lead for the first time in the second half in the 52nd minute, after another four goals from Sandell.

But everything turned upside down as Elverum’s defence failed to contain Thun. The Swiss side took back the lead with two minutes to go, thanks to a collective effort that saw 11 different outfield players on the scoresheet.

Elverum scored twice in the last two minutes to earn the win. The final goal came with eight seconds to go, when Simen Holand Pettersen scored in Thun’s open goal to bring the 29:28 win for Elverum.

The Norwegian side must win their last game against Leon, who are not out of contention, while Dinamo must not win against Thun, for Elverum to progress to the play-off stage.

TEXT: Adrian Costeiu/jh