Tobias Thulin helps GOG book their play-off ticket
After being the sensation of round 11, thanks to their win in Veszprem, GOG avoided a let down versus Wisla Plock tonight. The Danish side have now secured a play-off ticket while the Polish side are still in the hunt for a spot in the next phase.
Plock has one of the toughest defences in the whole Machineseeker EHF Champions League, so the hosts played as fast as they possibly could to avoid it. They were also aided by Tobias Thulin’s performance between their posts.
GROUP A
GOG (DEN) vs Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) 31:24 (18:11)
- Tobias Thulin took the spotlight in the first 15 minutes, as the GOG goalkeeper only allowed four goals to help his team take its first four-goals advantage
- powered by their Pytlick-Madsen-Jorgensen trio, which netted 13 combined goals in the first half alone, the hosts took a maximum advantage of seven goals before the break
- Plock’s offensive drought continued after half-time, as only Tin Lucin managed to score more than five goals for the Polish side
- on the other hand, GOG kept their foot to the pedal, enjoying an advantage as big as eight goals with 17 minutes remaining
- GOG’s Emil Madsen and Plock’s Tin Lucin share the best scorers honours, as they both netted seven times
- GOG have now secured the presence in the play-offs, while Plock will still have to battle in the last two rounds to enjoy a similar fate
Another stunning performance by Tobias Thulin
Eleven saves at a 55 per cent efficiency rate - those are the incredible statistics that GOG goalkeeper Tobias Thulin pulled off in the first half. Thanks to this performance, the Danish side was able to play as fast as possible, scoring some easy goals on fastbreaks and avoiding having to face Plock's tough defence in the process. The hosts scored 18 times in the first half, but their goalkeeper actually had a lot to do with it.
Nothing else matters in the analysis when Tobias Thulin plays like he did today. We stood a bit better defensively than last time, but he made the great difference.
I think that the key was in the first half. Our shooting was off and I think Tobias Thulin had 10 saves. Also, GOG ran as they wanted to in attack. The second half was way better, but overall they played better than we did.
