The Scandinavian derby in group B of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2022/23 was mostly one-sided – and Aalborg Håndbold came away with a clear 33:25 over Elverum Handball on Wednesday.
Aalborg's 100th match in the EHF Champions League earned them their second victory of the season, while Elverum lost for a second time.
Aalborg goalkeeper Simon Gade was crucial for the Danish side with 18 saves.
GROUP B
Elverum Handball (NOR) vs Aalborg Håndbold (DEN) 25:33 (14:17)
- with Gade saving 50% of the shots at that time, Aalborg took an early 12:6 lead
- from minute 20 to minute 38, the hosts had their strongest period, as they managed to reduce the gap to just two (20:18), but then missed two clear chances in a row
- the Danish side took the upper hand again, improving in defence and goalkeeping, and increasing the efficiency in attack again
- Aalborg decided the match with a 6:1 run for 26:19, thanks to a strong performance of 21-year-old Mads Hoxer Hangaard, who scored seven goals; even one more than Mikkel Hansen
- best Elverum scorer was Stig-Tore Moen with five goals
Aalborg make the Club of 100
Congratulations to Aalborg Håndbold – not only for winning at Elverum, but for joining the Club of 100. The 33:25 victory on Wednesday was the 100th EHF Champions League match for the Danish side – and their 41th victory. The matches 81 and 82 will still be remembered the most: at the EHF FINAL4 2021 in Cologne, beating Paris Saint-Germain 35:33 in the semi-final but losing to Barça 36:23 in the final, which thae had reached as the first team from Denmark. Last season, Aalborg enjoyed their longest winning run, of seven straight matches.
I think we played a good match. We controlled 20 minutes of the first half, and then we made some changes. Elverum are a very good team and we knew it would be a hard match, but Simon Gade really saved us from trouble.
