Ikast become first team to qualify for the EHF Finals Women
The second leg of the EHF European League Women 2022/23 quarter-final between Ikast Handbold against Siófok KC ended just as convincingly for the Danish side as the first leg.
After taking a big 31:21 victory on Saturday evening, Ikast are the first team this season to qualify for the EHF Finals Women in Graz.
QUARTER-FINAL, SECOND LEG
Ikast Handbold (DEN) vs Siófok KC (HUN) 31:21 (17:8)
Ikast Handbold won 61:41 on aggregate
The second leg between Ikast and Siófok was going to decide which team qualified for the EHF Finals Women 2023 on 13-14 May 2023. From the first minute, Ikast were in front by one goal – and so it continued. With a great tactical performance from players like Stine Skogrand, Ingvild Bakkerud and Sarah Iversen – who all scored goals in the first part of the first half – Ikast were in front 5:3 after seven minutes. For the next few minutes, Siófok were right on the heels of the Danes, with Dejana Milosavljevic adding to her account, until Ikast again showed their quality. At half-time, Ikast clearly led 17:8.
The second half was a blast for Ikast, who continued to score goals and showcase their defence before they could celebrate a 10-goal victory like last weekend. Even though Siófok have to travel back to Hungary without a victory, Dejana Milosavljevic can enjoy that she became the top scorer of Saturday's game with nine goals from 12 shots. Also, Ikast goalkeeper Jessica Ryde, who made nine saves from 17 shots faced, produced a great performance to finish with a save percentage of 52.94 per cent. With a 61:41 aggregate win, Ikast are the first team to make it to the semi-finals of the EHF European League Women 2022/23.
The draw for the semi-final pairings of the EHF Finals Women will be drawn on Tuesday 28 March at 4pm in Graz, Austria.
Photo credit: Frederik Dahl, Hamistolen
Every game has its own life, and it was a little surprising for us that we won by 10 in Siófok. We wanted to come home with the best possible lead, and when we won by 10, we had faith that we could play an equally good game here and today it was a good team performance.
Its amazing. I'm super, super happy. Now we have the opportunity to win a title for the club. I'm not only pleased with the qualification, but also the way we did it over two games.
