For the first time in five meetings in the EHF Champions League, Elverum took a richly deserved point off Paris Saint-Germain, thanks to a stirring comeback in the final 15 minutes of the Match of the Week on Wednesday, their play-off first-leg encounter.
Line player Thomas Solstad scored nine goals and was awarded Player of the Match, but it was his teammate and Swedish EHF EURO champion Eric Johansson who scored the goal that wrapped up the 30:30 draw just before the final buzzer.
MOTW:
Elverum Handball (NOR) vs Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA) 30:30 (13:16)
- in the first half of their first EHF Champions League knockout match, Elverum lacked efficiency in attack, except two players: Endre Langaas and Thomas Solstad, who each scored four goals and fill the gap left by the injured Dominik Mathe, who was unable to face his future club
- for PSG, line player Kamil Syprzak replaced Mikkel Hansen, and the Pole scored six goals in the first 30 minutes (and 12 in the whole match) to be the key for their three goals lead at the break
- after 22:17 in the 40th minute, PSG missed many chances to stretch their lead, and Elverum grew in belief leading to Tobias Grøndahl levelling the result at 24:24 after a 7:2 run
- Eric Johannsson scored next to put Elverum ahead for the first time, at 27:26
- in the last 10 minutes, the biggest gap was one goal, and the lead changed several times. After Luc Steins scored to put PSG ahead 30:29, Johansson scored two of Elverum’s last three goals including the last one
- The teams meet in the French capital next week when who will face THW Kiel in the quarter-finals will be decided
Two runs come to an end
Elverum Handball had waited for their first EHF Champions League point since 28 October, when they won 30:27 at Meshkov Brest. The Norwegian champions then lost their next eight Champions League matches – before they rose like a Phoenix against Paris to win their first ever point in a Champions League knock-out match.
PSG also ended a run, but not in a good way. The match was their seventh against a Norwegian team and the first that they did not win. In the Champions League season, Paris have only lost one of their last eight matches with five wins and two draws.
It was a tense and close fight. Overall, we succeeded with most of the things we wanted to achieve. I think we can learn a lot from this game for the next game, but probably PSG can also do so. I think we showed ourselves and our supporters that we have developed since last season, and that what we want to do.
