Change at Byasen with new players and less pressure

Two things have been certain facts in Norwegian women’s handball before the start of each and every season for a considerable number of years: Larvik HK would be champions and Byasen Trondheim runners-up.

Not one person with the slightest knowledge of women’s handball in Norway doubts for a second that the first fact applies again this season. Larvik will win again.

However, there is doubt when it comes to Byasen in second position.

“That will be difficult and it will probably be extremely close from second to seventh position, because several teams have been reinforced, while we have lost players for the second year in succession.

“Players such as Camilla Herrem and Raja Toumi were key and are difficult to replace. We do have young talented players who can take over, but the question is whether or not such young players can perform in each and every match,” says Byasen coach Claus Mogensen, who has just begun his second season at the club.

“My first season here was a success. The club had lost several good players before the season, but still we managed to reach the semi-final of the Cup Winners Cup. That was more than we expected, and it was obviously the greatest day of the season, as we defeated Hypo Niederösterreich by 14 goals in the quarter-final (37:23 in the second leg)," Claus Mogensen tells ehfCL.com.

Confidence in young players

He is expecting an even more challenging season this year than last year. Apart from having lost several key players, the club in Norway’s third largest city is also handicapped by long term injuries to two of their present key players, Marie Henriksen and Silje Waade.

“We have an extremely talented squad with a lot of potential, so over time I am very optimistic about our chances and we will probably see the impact of several of young talents in this season already,” says the coach, who saw his team open the league season Sunday with a 30:30 draw against Vipers Kristianssand.

“Vipers are exactly one of the teams who have been strengthened for this season,” says Claus Mogensen, who has also started to look ahead at the qualification tournament for the Women´s EHF Champions League.

It has been three years since Byasen were last in the competition proper. The past two years has seen the qualification tournament get the better of the Norwegian club and put an end to their dreams.

Going for the final in Serbia

This year, Byasen’s attempt to reach the group matches is going to take place in the Serbian town Kragujevac, where Qualification Tournament 2 takes place on 20 and 21 September.

Byasen’s opponent in the semi-final will be Croatian champions HC Podravka Vegeta. If Clause Mogensen’s girls make it past that hurdle, the winner of the match between last season’s Women’s EHF FINAL4 participants FC Midtjylland and hosts WHC Radnicki Kragujevac will be waiting in the deciding match for a ticket to the group matches.

In case of a win in that match as well, the daunting prospect of Buducnost, Thüringer HC and WHC Vardar SCBT will be waiting in Group B.

“Our aim is to reach the final in the qualification group in Serbia. We know, however, that it will be hard enough to get past Podravka, who have several Croatian internationals in their team.

“And if we get that far, I am sure FC Midtjylland will be waiting in the final. They were in the semi-final last season and in my opinion they have been reinforced since then.

“However, we are really looking forward to the test, and if we do not pass it, it will be the Cup Winners Cup once again. That will undoubtedly also be a fine opportunity for our young players to develop,” concludes Mogensen.