Upbeat Nora Mørk to face CSM in MOTW

It has been a long and arduous road to recovery for one of the most prominent players in the DELO EHF Champions League. But, at a first glance, it seems that it was worth it.

In her last two seasons, with Györi Audi ETO KC and CSM Bucuresti respectively, Nora Mørk scored only two goals as knee injuries forced the Norwegian ace for a long spell on the sidelines.

The 29-year-old right back has always been a fan favourite and a player that has won games by herself with electrifying goals, yet after nine surgeries, questions began to arise about her future in the game.

Now Mørk is back and looking like her old self on the court, scoring 11 goals for Vipers Kristiansand in the first two games this season, including nine in their 33:29 win at SG BBM Bietigheim.

Vipers can start their EHF Champions League campaign with three straight wins for the first time. But they will have to overcome Mørk’s previous club, CSM, in Match of the Week on Saturday at 18:00 CEST.

Vipers have lost three of their four previous meetings with CSM, who will be without their leading scorer, Cristina Neagu.

In this Interview of the Week, Mørk talks about:

• returning to the highest level after her knee injury,
• the secret behind Vipers’ strong start to the season, and
• her year with Vipers’ MOTW opponents, CSM Bucuresti.

eurohandball.com: How do you feel back on the court?

Nora Mørk: I feel like myself again. I have been waiting to get this feeling, to grasp a little bit of air on the court for a long time and now I am just trying to enjoy every second of it.

eurohandball.com: You have scored 11 goals in two games, you are back in Norway, do you feel out of the woods?

Nora Mørk: Actually, I have been pushing myself a lot. The hardest part was to be back mentally and enter a strong mindset before actually being back on the court. I knew it was possible to be back at the highest level, but I am not there, in my opinion. There is a little bit of work that needs to be done and hopefully everything will pan out fine.

eurohandball.com: Vipers started the season with two wins out of two games and the team really plays well. What is the secret behind it?

Nora Mørk: We have a lot of good players and really put some work into our training sessions. Everything is good, the morale is high in the team and I am very happy to have won our first two games. But there is a lot of work ahead of us and we still have a long way to go.

eurohandball.com: Vipers failed to progress from the main round last season. What is the objective this time?

Nora Mørk: Aiming for the DELO EHF FINAL 4 is possible and we have the potential to qualify for Budapest. There are a lot of games to be played, though, and we only got two wins in the first two games, so we must be careful and play better and better.

eurohandball.com: Is the Match of the Week against your former club, CSM Bucuresti, a special game for you?

Nora Mørk: It is a tough game, CSM are a very good team, I know them from last season. However, it will be nice to see my old teammates and I hope we will win this time.

eurohandball.com: How did you feel in Romania and how difficult was it to leave CSM after playing less than 30 minutes in a season for them?

Nora Mørk: It did not go as I hoped at CSM and it was very hard to get injured so early in the season and not being able to help on the court. I really felt good in Bucharest, but I decided to go home, to Norway, for personal reasons.

eurohandball.com: CSM will be without Cristina Neagu. Will her absence hurt them?

Nora Mørk: I wish Cristina all the best and I hope to see her back as soon as possible, because I know how it feels not being able to play. She was performing great in the first games and has been a key player for CSM. It is an advantage for us, but they are still a great team and will come here to fight.