Plock against GOG was a case of one team that delivered two good games and won one of them, and another that remained undefeated after their first two outings.
In the end, defenses had the upper hand and to that end, Plock remained kings of their castle. Their well-polished defensive tactics allowed the Polish team to take control of the game in the first half and not let go.
GOG pushed in the last quarter, but the hosts stayed on top to secure their second home victory of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League group stage.
GROUP A :
Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) vs GOG (DEN) 31:27 (17:14)
- GOG made the best start in the game and took an early three-goal lead, but the Danish momentum did not last long. Within 10 minutes, Plock went on a 6:1 run and were up by three after 15 minutes
- Plock's Dmitry Zhitnikov and GOG's wingers Jerry Tollbring and Oskar Vind Rasmussen were in the spotlight in the first half, scoring goal after goal while the hosts retained their advantage until the break
- with 16 saves, GOG's goalkeeper Tobias Thulin did everything he could to keep his team in the game, but his teammates did not take their chances in attack
- the visitors were unable to get beyond trailing by two goals, while Tin Lucin and Sergei Kosorotov were scoring just enough to keep Plock ahead on the scoreboard
- Lucin finished leading scorer for the game with seven goals for Plock, while two players netted six for GOG : Simon Pytlick and Jerry Tollbring
- Plock are now tied second in the group with four points, while GOG are fifth with three points
For Plock, defense made the differenceÂ
Since the start of the season, GOG have always scored at least 30 goals and have lost only one match. Tonight, Nikolej Krickau's players only netted 27 times, unable to find a solution against Plock's mobile defence, which constantly threatened their efforts.
Morten Olsen lacked the impact he usually has and, no one was able to fire a spark. Tale of the night, if you want to beat GOG, defense is the key.
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Congratulations to my team, because matches against teams like GOG are never easy. Wisla and GOG are teams on a similar level - GOG played a fantastic competition and year to year are becoming a better team, despite the fact that important players leave.
