betprepare.com

While Holstebro defeat themselves, GOG get important points

Holstebro won the first match convincingly, 26-18, but GOG improved significantly since. The home team managed to defeat themselves two times in a row

Photo: www.sprwislaplock.pl

You don't know how to gamble away a nine goals advantage in only 17 minutes? Not a problem, just ask Tvis Holstebro. That's exactly what they did in the last round. They dominated their home court against Aalborg for 40 minutes, like they were the only ones playing, and then they gambled away everything in the final moments. 

- This was close to the worst handball I've ever seen. We played the first 40 minutes perfectly, crushed them completely. Then we did the same to ourselves; something obviously happened in the players' heads that shouldn't have happened. We have to solve this ASAP, I don't think it's simple - Tvis's coach Jorgensen was worried.

What Jorgensen realized was the connection between the defeats against Arhus and Aalborg. He's assuming that the reason for the two defeats in two evened out games is the same, but he can't find its root. The fact is that either he or other club leaders will have to find that root as soon as possible because Holstebro are threatened by the teams out of the top eight, which means their performance in the playoff is questionable. Today, they'll play against GOG who are only two points behind, but also rising - GOG got five wins and only one tie in the last six rounds.

aalborghaandbold.dk

- The points from this match are extremely important so we can reach the goals we have set. Even though we feel like we cheated ourselves after two defeats, there are elements in the game that still have quality, most of all the defense that we will rely on against GOG Svendborg - the home team's coach said.

Of course, the defense worked well against Aalborg, except for the last 17 minutes when they managed to concede 12 goals. But, Jorgensen is aware they can't let anything like that happen again. It's hard to think the goalies won't save absolutely anything, or that his players will come back to the defense that badly, or that the offense will make one mistake after the other. It was a complete collapse, something you don't see often, not only with Tvis, but no one in the league.

- Sure, Aalborg ruined our mood a bit, especially for defeating us before the holidays. But, I'm happy again because I know that every player will be mad at himself because of that duel and will try to make up for it today. I think nobody will be able to hold anything against us after this match - Holstebro coach concluded.

It's clear, both them and the fans expect only a win, especially because they demolished Svendborg at the beginning of the season, and left home with 8 goals advantage. But, that was a different GOG, a team not nearly similar to the what we've been seeing since. Then, they were in the middle of a crisis, and now, they're in a completely opposite situation. They confirmed it in an away game against Lemvig.

- A tough match, as we expected. We couldn't toughen up our defense, they played in a fantastic rhythm and really made it hard for us. Luckily, the goalies got a few important saves in the second part, that made a difference and decided things for us - coach Larsen summed it up. He also found some positive elements after the win:

- Even though we weren't optimal, it was important to remain calm till the end of the match and fight as much as possible. That's why we got the win. It was our best ally in that match. Besides, we used 16 players and showed that was our big strength - that's why we can play the final of any game with great quality.

That's exactly why they got points in the last six rounds, against teams they had to defeat. They were all teams from the middle or the bottom part of the Danish league table. GOG clearly showed that they're above those when it comes to quality, even though things didn't seem nearly that great for today's guest a month ago.

- It really seems incredible when I remember how we struggled to stay in the league mid November, and by defeating Tvis, we can skip them on the table and stabilize our position - Larsen analyzed, and continued:

- Of course this series really boosted our self-confidence, but we also built a winning mentality. It's the most important thing because in our worlds, it all revolves around the points. We finally know how to get them and I believe we'll know that in the future!

Holstebro's quality places them above teams GOG managed to defeat in the last rounds, so this round should be a real test of their mentality, as well as their quality. It's clear they don't have the right to take a wrong step this time in the defense nor the offense - to defeat Tvis, both ways have to work, which wasn't the case in the last duel they played. A bad thing for the guests is also that there's no signs of any of the important duo Kirkelokke-Kronborg coming back.