Krim book play-off ticket, Sävehof eliminated

GROUP B

Krim Mercator Ljubljana (SLO) vs IK Sävehof (SWE) 32:18 (12:9)

• in a low-scoring first half, both sides looked nervous and could not find the net between minutes 18 and 23
• Krim had the upper hand and led by three goals at the break. And early in the second half, solid defence and a string of Katarina Krpez Slezak's goals saw the home team pull cleat at 19:12
• Barbara Arenhart was the heroine of the day, recording 14 saves for a 44 per cent save rate. Her teammate Tjasa Stanko netted eight times
• the sixth-placed Slovene team finished the group stage with a tally of 10 points, while Sävehof stay on six points
• in the play-off, Krim will meet FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria on 26/27 March and 2/3 April

Krim deserved it

It was the Swedish side who won the reverse fixture with Krim in round 1 by a small margin, 29:28. However, afterwards the Swedish team only managed to beat outsiders Kastamonu twice, losing all the other encounters. And while Jamina Roberts is among the top scorers of the competition, her impact was not enough to secure good results – and notably she was restricted by only two goals in the crucial match in Ljubljana.

Krim did not have a brilliant group phase either, but they managed to upset some favourites, taking three points from CSKA and one at Metz, so they deserved to continue the fight. And keeping in mind how Krim almost eliminated CSKA in the play-offs last year, FTC should be wary of Nataliya Derepasko's team.