Pre-Match Report
BVB handballers face tough task in Norway
‘’Our job has to be to keep our technical mistakes to a minimum,‘’ said BVB coach Henk Groener ahead of the game in Norway, recalling the 33-23 defeat at the hands of Thüringer HC on Wednesday evening. "We made far too many of those against Thuringia and got ourselves into trouble as a result. That has to change against Sola," said Groener.
After all, the Norwegians are extremely dangerous when playing at pace and bring a lot of quality onto the court with their well-balanced squad. "I was surprised that Sola only lost by one goal in Ikast. But that shows how tight this Group B is," said Groener. In their narrow 35-34 defeat in Denmark, the Norwegians upset the group favourites for a long time and proved that they are determined to make it to the quarter-finals. After the 31-31 draw against Valcea in their first group game, Borussia will also be keen to keep their quarter-final chances alive.
Sola have been permanent participants in the EHF European League since 2021 and have qualified for the quarter-finals every time - although they have never made it past that stage. With the exception of Brazilian goalkeeper Mayssa Raquel de Oliveira Pessoa, the entire squad is made up of Norwegian players. In their domestic league, the team coached by Steffen Stegavik is in third place after 12 rounds of games. For 23-year-old Boussin Guro Husebø, the clash will be a return to home, as the Norwegian was born in Stavanger and played for Sola HK until 2023.
BVB will make the journey to Stavanger on Saturday, where Sola plays its home games in the Idrettshall. Sola itself is located 12 kilometres from Stavanger, directly on the North Sea coast in western Norway. "I'm really looking forward to the first away game in the European League," said BVB backcourt player Dana Bleckmann. "We have to be compact in our defence and put the brakes on Sola's pace. If we can do that, I'm very excited to see what we can achieve there."
The game will be broadcast live on Dyn. The return fixture against the Norwegians will take place at 15:00 CET on 22 February in the Westfalenhalle, where the Borussians previously played their final group game in the 22/23 European League season in front of 11,112 spectators. Tickets for the clash are already on sale.