HAMMERSENG: „I WANTED TO HELP MY TEAM MORE”

Eurohandball.cominterviewed Ikast’s Gro Hammerseng, the Best Player of Euro 2004 after herside’s clash with Hypo Niederösterreich in Südstadt. The captain of theNorwegian national team was given the red card in the 25th minute, so this timeshe commented on a match that she partly saw from outside.

eurohandball.com: What is your opinion about this match and the chancesof the return leg?

Gro Hammerseng: Last yearwe were defeated by five goals in Südstadt, and beat them by eleven in Denmark.Considering that, I think we have a fair chance, so I hope that history willrepeat itself. Of course, I am angry about my exclusion, because I wanted toplay more than 25 minutes... I have been sick in the last couple of days and Iwas a bit anxious whether I can play well in this match. Compared to that, Iwas not doing bad, I scored 4 times before the red card.

eurohandball.com: How didyou feel about the decision?

Hammerseng: I was verydisappointed about it. It is terrible to watch the girls from outside, when youcannot help anymore. I was glad to see that we could open a six-goal lead inthe second half, but then Hypo set a defender on our playmaker, KristineAndersen. She was taken out of the game and we lost the momentum. I am reallylooking forward to the return leg, where I think we have a good chance to winby six or seven goals.

eurohandball.com: How do youevaluate Ikast’s CL campaign so far?

Hammerseng: We haveplayed several good matches against some strong teams. Getting to thequarterfinals is a great success for us, but we want to advance as far aspossible. We need to do our utmost in the return leg. If we do so, we willqualify for the next round.

eurohandball.com: Inaddition to your club duties, you have also played a tournament with theNorwegian national team in Germany recently...

Hammerseng: Yes, wewon the Riesa tournament, but we could only defeat Germany by one goal in thefinal, because we were testing some new tactical formations. It was great tosee my teammates, as we had not met since the European Championship. I didscore seven goals in the final, but I was given much less court-time in theprevious clashes. My club coach, Magnus Johansson specifically asked thenational coach to spare me a bit, so that I can focus on the Champions Leaguecampaign, which is a top priority for us.

Text:       IldikóBalogh