CSKA and Krim share spoils in thriller
Last season, CSKA and Krim Mercator Ljubljana exchanged victories in the play-off round of the DELO EHF Champions League. On Sunday afternoon in Moscow, their match in group B ended in a 21:21 draw.
GROUP B
CSKA (RUS) vs Krim Mercator Ljubljana (SLO) 21:21 (11:12)
- Tjaša Stanko's goals and Barbara Arenhart's saves powered Krim to a 12:8 lead in the 27th minute, but CSKA closed the gap to 12:11 at the break
- the home team continued their chase after the break and ultimately drew level at 18:18 after Sara Ristovska scored twice in a row against her former team
- the Russian side then led 20:18, but Katarina Krpez-Slezak's equaliser for Krim in the 58th minute sealed the final score
- Ristovska, who spent the 2018/19 season at Krim, was CSKA's top scorer with five goals. Tjaša Stanko netted seven times for the visitors
- this was the first draw in group B. CSKA now have seven points; Krim have three points
Good goalkeeping on both sides
This was a low-scoring game in which goalkeepers were the best players for both sides. Polina Kaplina did well for CSKA, making 12 saves for a 39 per cent save rate, while her teammate Anna Sedoykina saved one penalty.
Barbara Arenhart was a true heroine for Krim, recording 15 saves – including two crucial ones in the last two minutes. The Brazilian goalkeeper not only boasted a 42 per cent save efficiency, but also scored one goal herself.
I am pleased with the result because it could have been different for us. Unfortunately, we have not used a lot of good moments. We have a week to fix all the mistakes.
Both teams fought to the very end. At the same time, the defence of both teams was good. We made a number of mistakes. But in the second match we will try to rehabilitate ourselves and show our best game.
