CSKA struggle but beat Sävehof
The game in Moscow was really close, yet CSKA did a slightly better job and ultimately snatched a 29:28 win against IK Sävehof.
The Russian side are now on four points after three games, while their Swedish rivals suffered a third consecutive defeat and remain on two points.
GROUP B
CSKA (RUS) vs IK Sävehof (SWE) 29:28 (14:11)
- CSKA got their first lead in the 17th minute when Sara Ristovska made the score 7:6
- the Russian team led by three goals at the break, yet a string of goals by Jamina Roberts and Mathilda Lundström helped Sävehof to draw level at 21:21 midway through the second half
- with two minutes to go, CSKA led 29:26, and although the visitors narrowed the gap, they failed to grab any points
- Roberts, who scored six of her eight goals in the second half, climbed to the provisional top position in the tournament's scoring chart with 33 goals
- Karina Sabirova and Ekaterina Ilina became CSKA's joint top scorers with six goals
Both goalkeepers had great performances
Polina Kaplina stood like a wall in CSKA's goal, recording 17 saves for a 38 per cent save rate. The Russian, who wears shirt number 99 because she was born in 1999, was especially good in the first half when she stopped 11 shots and also scored a goal from her own half.
Her Sävehof colleague Wilma Kroon Andersson also did a great job, making 16 saves, yet her effort was not enough as CSKA won by just one goal.
We stood up well as a team today and tried our best, but Moscow were too strong for us. I think our goalkeeper [Wilma Kroon Andersson] was very strong today. We tried to play seven against six, and a lot of other things to change the match, but Moscow is a good team with a good goalkeeper. I am proud of my team and how we managed to fight through the whole game.
Sävehof were fighting the whole match. The game turned out to be difficult. We had problems at the beginning of the match, we did not use many good chances, including two penalties. Besides, we didn’t play with the optimal line-up. But I am proud of my handball players and the result we have managed to achieve.
