Nærbø IL became only the second Norwegian team to secure the title in third-tier European club competition after clinching the EHF European Cup Men with a 56:51 aggregate win over CS Minaur Baia Mare.

In their debut season in European competition, the club that will celebrate 100 years of history, had a fairytale story, starting from Round 2 where they faced Italian side Raimond Sassari.

A 61:53 win over Sassari was quickly followed by a crunch tie in Round 3, where they faced another Italian side, ASD Accademia Conversano 2014. Nærbø were on the brink of elimination after a 25:27 loss in the first leg, but bounced back on their home court to clinch a 31:27 win.

A 67:58 aggregate win over CSM Focsani in the Last 16 phase was followed by a walkover win against SKA Minsk, 20:0. However, the semi-finals were the pivotal moment of the competition, when Nærbø met fellow Norwegian side Drammen HK, the only Norwegian side to have previously won the third-tier competition.

Drammen took a 30:27 home win in the first leg, but Nærbø turned back the clock with their own 30:27 win in the second leg. The tie went to penalties, with the hosts clinching a 5:4 win and going to the final.

Nærbø were favourites against CS Minaur Baia Mare and duly confirmed their status with a 29:25 home win in the first leg, but the Romanian side still had room to manoeuver, after winning all previous six home games in the competition.

Helped by a wild crowd of 2,500 fans, Baia Mare tried everything to mount a comeback, yet fell short, after a sharp start from Nærbø. The Norwegian side took a 13:10 lead at the break, never relinquished the advantage and took their second win, 27:26, in one week against Minaur.

“I am very happy and proud of the players. I think we did an excellent job today, to go down here to not defend a win at home but to try to win here and also that we did it. I am very proud of the team and, of course, I'm very happy.

“It is very difficult to imagine that we went all the way. I think I need some days to understand what we have done now. Right now I’m just very, very happy,” said Heine Jensen, Nærbø’s coach.

Drammen’s left back Mathias Pedersen was the top scorer of the competition with 78 goals, followed by Baia Mare’s left wing Milan Kotrc with 58 goals and Nærbø’s back Tord Haugseng with 57 goals. 

The latter was decisive for the title winners, scoring 15 of the team’s 56 goals in the final against Baia Mare.

Despite Minaur losing the final, Romania still has the largest number of titles in the competition, seven, followed by Germany with six, Portugal with three, and Denmark, Greece, Norway and Sweden, with two trophies each.

For more information on the EHF European Cup Men, visit eurohandball.com. 

Photos: CS Minaur Baia Mare