HYPO TRIUMPHS OVER IKAST

The Hypo-Ikast match started with special lighteffects worthy of a CL-quarterfinal. The home team continued the spectacularshow by opening a three-goal lead in seven minutes (5-2). Hammerseng’s side wasnot intimidated, though and could narrow the gap to 7-6 by the 11th minute. Thevisitors applied the typical Scandinavian weapons; fast breaks and rundownattacks, scoring three goals in a row. Touray was unstoppable in right wing andutilised her opportunities very efficiently.

However, Hypo had a response: Logvin did not miss anypenalty and she could score from all possible positions, or assisted herteammates. Brazilian international Nascimento put her side in a five-goal leadby the 17th minute (12-7). On the visitors’ part, Daugaard and Knudsen weretrying to answer Logvin’s goals.

The Romanian referees gave a red card toHammerseng in the 24th minute, following her tackle on Logvin. Then Daugaardhad to leave the court on account of a face injury. Interestingly enough, theloss of the two key players did not upset Ikast very much, they equalised byhalftime (16-16).

In the second half, Danish international Mortensen improved a lot in Ikast’sgoal, while Broedsgaard and Knudsen were prolific again, utilising some fineassists from playmaker Kristine Andersen. The visitors were leading by fivegoals in the 45th minute, when Touray scored again from a fast break (20-25).

Hypo refused to give up, though, and they produced an amazing comeback: theyset a defender on Kristine Andersen, taking her out of the game almostcompletely. No wonder that Ikast began to falter in attack: there wereinaccurate and numerous premature shots that resulted in fast breaks on theother side, and Nascimento and Logvin made no mistake. In addition, Romanianinternational keeper, Radulescu, showed one fine save after the other. In theend, Logvin scored from a fast break, bringing the result to 32-27. The secondleg is expected to bring lots of excitement, indeed.

Text: Sándor Joó