11 goals from van der Heijden as Esbjerg defeat Krim by 10

Dutch international Laura van der Heijden was on fire, as Women’s EHF Champions League debutants Team Esbjerg defeat RK Krim Mercator 35:25. Elsewhere, Sävehof stunned Larvik 25:22 after a unbelievable second-half comeback.

• RK Krim Mercator are in the Women’s EHF Champions League for the 22th time; Team Esbjerg are debutants

• Mirjeta Bajramoska scored Kirm’s 5,500 (25:16) Champions League goal number in history

• Despite only playing 47 minutes, Laura van der Heijden became top scorer with 11 goals

• It was Sävehof´s first win in five Champions League matches against Larvik, and their 10th Champions League win in history

• Emma Ekenman Fernis scored 11 goals from 12 attempts for Sävehof

GROUP D
Team Esbjerg (DEN) vs RK Krim Mercator (SLO) 35:25 (17:11)

Before the match, Team Esbjerg extended their contract with head coach Lars Frederiksen up until 2019, and he and his players celebrated this by winning as big as 35:25 at home against RK Krim Mercator in Esbjerg’s Champions League debut Saturday afternoon.

2,022 spectators saw the home team decide the match at an early stage, and the Danish champions were able to maintain their concentration all the way.

Fast out of the blocks

After one minute and 46 seconds, left wing Maria Mose Vestergaard scored Team Esbjerg’s first goal ever in the Champions League Group Matches, as she put the home team ahead 1:0.

That was the start of an impressive first quarter of an hour from the home team who seemed to be steamrolling their opponents from the beginning.

Esbjerg went ahead 4:0, 6:1 and 10:4, and after Krim managed to reduce the deficit to 10:8, the hosts increased the pace again towards half-time.

Dominating Dutch internationals

Apart from right back Laura van der Heijden, who became top scorer with 11 goals, her Dutch national teammate Estavana Polman on the opposite back position was another dominating figure in the match, scoring six goals from seven attempts.

Esbjerg continued in the second half, where they left off before the break, and the home team had several 11-goal leads before finally winning by 10.

“This was a dream debut. Our defence was strong, and we managed to run the counter attacks like we had agreed upon before the match.

“Those factors were deciding,” Team Esbjerg coach Lars Frederiksen said.

Larvik (NOR) vs IK Sävehof (SWE) 22:25 (15:11)

Through an impressive comeback - changing a 17:13 deficit into a 25:22 win within the last 25 minutes - IK Sävehof pulled off a surprise in the Scandinavian derby at Larvik Saturday evening.

The Swedish champions simply seemed to have more physical and mental resources at the end.

Initially, it looked like the expected home win for Larvik, but an impressive finish from Sävehof changed the game into a surprising triumph for the visitors.

After a fairly equal start, Larvik already seemed to decide the match as they went from 8:8 to 14:9, and being four up at half-time, they were still in control.

Larvik also kept their four goal lead for the first five, six minutes of the second half. But from then on, Sävehof took over.

Winning the last 25 minutes by seven goals

After 17:13, Larvik were also leading 18:15, but with 14 minutes left, Jamina Roberts equalised (18:18) for Sävehof.

This was the first time since 8:8 that the match was even, but Sävehof had even more to come up with.

After a series of one-goal leads for Larvik, line player Thess Krönell made it 22:21 for the Swedish visitors with seven minutes and 45 seconds left.

After that, Sävehof never gave the lead away and they scored three more goals in a row (25:21), before Riegelhuth Koren scored the last goal of the match.