Otherwordly Reistad fuels supreme Norway comeback against Denmark to seal final berth

A 15-goal outing from Henny Reistad helped Norway to secure an otherworldly comeback in a vintage semi-final at the IHF Women’s World Championship, cancelling a six-goal Denmark lead in the first half, to take a 29:28 win after extra time.

SEMI-FINAL
Denmark vs Norway 28:29 a.e.t. (14:9; 23:23; 25:25)

A 39% shooting efficiency, a 33% attacking efficiency, 26% for the goalkeepers in terms of shot saved and five turnovers. These were Norway’s numbers at half-time in the semi-final of the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship against Denmark, and they surely shocked every Norway fan, as well as the players themselves.

The first half did not look good for Norway from a numerical standpoint, nor from a visual standpoint. There were uncharasteristic mistakes, easy shots which did not go in and a lack of urgency in their attack and defence. Take every facet of the game and Denmark looked better.

It all started with a 5:1 run for the co-hosts in Herning to start the match, as line player Kathrine Heindahl was nothing but special, scoring four times out of four shots, with Norway’s defence totally outplayed by Denmark’s attack, which came out swinging and forced Norway’s coach, Thorir Hergeirsson, to call a team time-out.

A 3:0 run balanced the score, but Denmark replied with their own 3:0 run, opening a 7:4 lead, which saw the fans in Herning go into raptures, especially when Althea Reinhardt got on a roll. Reinhardt finished the first half with a 46% saving efficiency, with some excellent one-on-one saves, which applied plenty of pressure on Norway.

While Stine Oftedal and Henny Reistad finally got into a groove, Reinhardt was still there and prevented their opponents to score more than nine goals in the first half, as Denmark even led by six goals, 14:8, as Norway looked as good as done.

Yet Norway, the reigning world champions, should never be counted out. With a superb depth and a next-to-none experience in their roster, whenever they start rolling, they are impossible to stop. For 10 minutes and 31 seconds, Denmark failed to score a goal, with Norway using a 4:0 run to cut the gap to two goals.

And then Reinhardt hit again, saving a fast break from Camilla Herrem, to give some breathing space for her side, which remembered how to score and took a 16:12 lead after 38 minutes, applying some more pressure on Norway, which were finally playing their best handball and doing all the right things to try and make it to the final for the second time in a row at the IHF Women’s World Championship.

But then Heindahl left the court due to an injury and everything started to unravel for Denmark. First, Norway cut the gap to only one goal, 18:17, after multiple failed attempts, which prompted another tactical change for Denmark, which saw Jesper Jensen deploy a seven-on-six attack, a high-risk decision, which did not yield the expected dividends.

Norway had three chances to tie the score, failing every time to Denmark’s magnific defence, as Denmark still had a 22:20 lead with six minutes to go, as Hergeirsson called another team time-out, trying to bring some clarity to a team which clearly lacked the cutting-edge usually brought to the table.

Yet the comeback material imprinted in Norway’s DNA was there to be seen once again. With 56 seconds left in the match, Norway took the first lead, 23:22, only for Denmark to tie the match with three seconds left, as Kristina Jorgensen converted a penalty, pushing the game into extra-time.

And then it was Henny Reistad. Norway’s left back gave the performance of a lifetime, the best ever individual performance from a single player in the semi-finals of the IHF Women’s World Championship. Reistad finished the match with 15 goals from 17 shots, including Norway’s six last goals.

The left back was also the one lifting Norway to the win, 29:28, with a last-gasp shot with one second left, gifting her side the chance to play in the ninth final in history, with a powerful shot which could not be saved by Sandra Toft.

On the other hand, Denmark conceded another painful loss against their rivals and will have to settle for the bronze medal match on Sunday.

hummel Player of the Match: Althea Reinhardt (Denmark)