Herning-Ikast Handbold had already secured a quarter-final spot in the EHF European League Women 2021/22, but the Danish side did not slow down as they beat Handball Club Lada 34:27 to maintain their perfect record in group C after five games.
GROUP C
Herning-Ikast Handbold (DEN) vs Handball Club Lada (RUS) 34:27 (16:17)
- after a somewhat slow start, Herning-Ikast took a 14:12 lead in the 25th minute, but Lada then enjoyed a 5:2 run before the break
- a close fight continued well into the second half, as the sides were level at 23:23 in the 45th minute
- however, Emma Friis and Caroline Sorensen made an impact in attack to help Herning-Ikast pull clear in the last quarter of the game
- Friis, who scored five of her seven goals after the restart, was Herning-Ikast's top scorer in this encounter
- Valeriia Kirdiasheva and Olga Fomina netted seven times each for Lada
Lada on the brink of elimination
The Russian club were seeded directly into the group phase and were viewed as being among the competition favourites, yet their performance has been quite a disappointment.
Lada, who have already lost four matches, only have two points under their belt because their home match against Magura Cisnadie, cancelled due to the Covid-19 restrictions, was assessed as a 10:0 win in their favour.
However, if Magura avoid defeat at Storhamar later on Saturday, Lada will lose their chance to progress to the quarter-finals — with one match to go.
It was a good match from our side, especially after the break. We had some problems in the first half but became much better in the second half. Our keeper began to have some saves, and the defence worked a little bit harder, which gave us good opportunities in the other end.
