Painful defeat in Norway

A new point was well within reach this time, but a touch of luck was missing at the end. Luck that wasn’t on the side of Krim Mercator’s handball players, who had to concede defeat to Storhamar on their home court with a close score of 29:28. Their next chance awaits in two weeks – on Saturday, February 8, at 6:00 PM in Arena Stožice!

The Tigresses needed a few minutes to warm up in the cold Norwegian town of Hamar. The home team managed to pull ahead with a four-goal lead midway through the first half. However, Tatjana Brnović and Philomina Egger responded with key goals, and Krim’s head coach Ambrosio Martín Cedres called a well-timed timeout to regroup his team. This gave the players a much-needed boost. The young Austrian quickly scored again, and captain Ana Gros followed with two goals, leveling the score at 10:10.

Towards the end of the first half, the Spanish strategist introduced Nina Zulić into the game, marking her return to the European handball stage after 463 days of maternity leave. However, Zulić also found herself sidelined during the game after receiving a two-minute suspension. From that moment, the Norwegians only managed to score once more, setting the halftime score at 14:11.

Krim’s next match will take place on Saturday (Feb 8, 18:00) in Stožice Arena against Gloria. Tickets HERE.

A highly competitive game continued into the second half. In the 38th minute, the hosts extended their lead to +5 for the first time, but the Krim players didn’t back down. Tamara Mavsar immediately stole the ball in the next attack and reduced the deficit with a fast-break goal. After two more goals by Egger and Gros, Brnović intercepted a pass and also scored on a counterattack, narrowing the score to 19:17.

With three consecutive goals from Betchaidelle Ngombele, the players in black jerseys entered the final six minutes of the game trailing by the same margin. Ngombele struck again to reduce the gap to just one, and the captain led by example, leveling the score at 28:28 with two minutes remaining.

At that moment, Barbara Arenhart shone with a crucial save, giving the Ljubljana team a chance to take the lead. However, before the attack, Krim called for a timeout. Eli Marie Raasok denied Mavsar’s shot, and in the game’s dying seconds, Kjerstin Boge Solaas sealed the home team’s victory with a shot from the ground. The final score, 29:28, left the Krim family heartbroken.

 

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Ambrosio Martin Cedres, head coach of Krim Mercator: »This is a painful defeat. Not just because of the final moments of the game, but also because we fought hard the entire time. We’re battling the situation we’re in. It’s clear that we can’t wait until the last second to secure a victory – we need to do it throughout the entire game. As a team. We need more focus and discipline.«

Maja Vojnovič, goalkeeper of Krim Mercator: »From the start, we knew it would be tough, but we fought hard. We believed we could do it. We saw that victory was within reach, but we lacked a bit of focus and a bit of luck. We really fought and wanted this so much. We’re going through challenging times, but we must not give up. We can do this—everything is still possible!«

EHF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, GROUP PHASE, ROUND 11

Sunday, 26th January 2025, at 14.00
STORHAMAR HANDBALL ELITE (NOR) : KRIM MERCATOR 29:28 (14:11)

Storhamar: Monné, Rivas-Toft 7, Venn 5, Abudla 4, Löfqvist 2, Svele, Ellertsen, Jacobsen, Obaidli 7, Raasok, Boge Solaas 4, Mastad, Krogh, Gjikokaj.
Krim Mercator: Jurič, Stanko, Gros 7, Zaadi Deuna 1, Mavsar 4, A. Abina, Arenhart, N’Diaye 1, Vojnovič, Gutierrez Bermejo 1, Zulič, Horaček 4, Ngombele 4, Brnović 3, E. Abina, Egger 3.
7-meters: Storhamar 3/3, Krim Mercator 1/1
2-minutes suspensions: Storhamar 2 min, Krim Mercator 8 min