Even though both teams produced great shots and showcased great defensive performances, the difference was made with Norway's excellent second half start. Led by Player of the Match, presented by Grundfos, goalkeeper Silje Solberg-Østhassel, Norway prevailed in the battle of perfect streaks and remained unbeaten at the Women's EHF EURO 2024.
GROUP II
Denmark vs Norway 24:27 (12:13)
- right from the start it was a battle between two fierce defences with Althea Reinhardt and Silje Solberg-Østhassel leading the way between the posts
- most of Denmark's play in the first 15 minutes was going toward line player Rikke Iversen, who netted three to give her team an 8:6 lead; Norway relied more on back court players finding a right place to attack and score from six metres
- Norway made a turnaround with a three-goal run and led 10:8 in the 22nd minute, benefitting from a period of power play
- the crucial Norwegian run happened at the start of the second half, when they scored four times without reply in less than four minutes; Denmark had to wait for their first score in the second half for six minutes
- even though Denmark kept pouncing and had opportunities following Anna Kristensen's saves, a few mistakes and Norway's fast pace made the gap too wide to narrow
- two players netted five times for Norway – Kristine Breistøl and Henny Reistad – Andrea Aagot Hansen was Denmark's top scorer, netting six times
Goalkeeping greatness on show
Whether you look at Denmark or Norway one thing is clear – they both have exceptional goalkeeper duos. Silje Solberg-Østhassel produced amazing saves, saving clear shots and pushing her team to a significant lead at the start of the second half.
She kept on giving as she stooped 15 Danish attacks at 39 per cent save efficiency, with her teammate Katrine Lunde cheering from the bench as she returned to the Women's EHF EURO 2024 after taking a break for family reasons, but also saving one penalty shot.
But the game was far from boring on the other side as well as Denmark introduced the fans in Vienna to their solid duo, proving the trust Jesper Jensen put in them by not including Sandra Toft in the EHF EURO squad. Althea Reinhardt took the court for the first 30 minutes, saving seven shots at 39 per cent save efficiency, while Anna Kristensen saved two penalties. Kristensen continued to do her magic in the second half, ending with a total of eight saves (33 per cent).
We missed a lot of chances in this the first half, even though we actually played for something and good, but we missed those 100 per cent chances. I also think that we could have had some penalties on some of the situations. So maybe looks a little bit worse than it actually was.
We maybe did not have as much flow as we normally have, but of course, we were a bit prepared for that when it's against Denmark, because they know us really well and they are always prepared for the first pressure in our attack.
