Dazzling Norway power past Romania for third win in a row

07 Dec. 2021

Dazzling Norway power past Romania for third win in a row

It did not take long to figure out that Norway have better chemistry, are faster and more clinical than Romania, jumping to their third win in a row at the 25th IHF Women’s World Championship, 33:22.

The Scandinavian side will now start Group II of the main round in Castelló with four points, as Romania take two points into the next phase of the competition.

GROUP C 
Norway vs Romania 33:22 (17:11)

Entering the Pabellón Ciutat de Castelló before the final game of Group C, you could not stop but wonder if you were in Spain or in Romania.

Castelló, a town with a population of 175,000, is dubbed the unofficial capital of Romania in Spain, with 10% of its inhabitants originating from Romania. Therefore, it was no surprise that Romanian fans from Castelló, from entire Spain and even from France and Belgium flocked to see and cheer for their favourites.

And for 15 minutes, it looked like the new Romanian team, who made plenty of changes before the start of Spain 2021, were really onto something. Their defence forced Norway to post five turnovers, goalkeeper Yuliya Dumanska saved five shots and Romania were in the groove, powered by their amazing fans.

It was, basically, a battle between the two goalkeepers, Dumanska and Norway’s Katrine Lunde, as the two teams found themselves yearning for a goal, with the score frozen at 4:3 for nearly eight minutes.

But when the deadlock was finally broken, it was all Norway, with their dazzling amount of speed and the genius of centre back Stine Bredal Oftedal, who produced some impressive reels. With four goals and three assists, Oftedal might not have fired Norway into the lead by herself, yet she was impossible to stop.

As was goalkeeper Katrine Lunde, who saved 12 shots, six of which were one-on-ones with her opponents, posting an otherworldly 52% saving efficiency, to lift Norway to a clear 17:11 lead at the break.

A 7:2 start to the second half sealed the win for Norway, who had little trouble of cruising to the win in the second part, as Romania’s defence starting to crumble step by step. With the Romanian goalkeepers posting a meagre 19% saving efficiency, the Scandinavian side scored at will, opening a large 25:14 gap after 42 minutes.

However deflated they might have been, the Romanian fans continued to cheer for their favourites until the end of the game.

With line player Kari Brattset Dale scoring seven goals and Lunde, the hummel Player of the Match, finishing the match with 19 saves and a 54% saving efficiency, Norway ran away with a 33:22 win, their biggest against Romania since 2013, when the Scandinavian side won by 12 goals, 30:18.

The Scandinavian side won their 12th match from the last 14 against Romania and are still undefeated at the IHF Women’s World Championship against them since 1975, extending their winning streak in the competition to six.

Norway will be taking four points in the main round, one point more than Sweden and the Netherlands, while Romania start the next phase of the competition with two points. The group is completed by Kazakhstan and Puerto Rico, who will be on the bottom two places with zero points.

hummel Player of the Match: Katrine Lunde, Norway

Photo: RFEBM / Á. Bermejo