– It’s the wildest thing I’ve been involved in for a long time, says news’s handball expert Håvard Tvedten. On Saturday evening, Norway played its second match of this year’s EC. “Everyone” had expected Norway to take a solid victory against the small island nation of the Faroe Islands, but that was not the case. It was a more even match than most had expected, but in the end it ended in a draw 26-26. – The Faroe Islands will live on this for a long time, says Tvedten. – They have done honor to the suit and honor to the country. Congratulations on a brilliant match, said news’s commentator Patrick Sten Rowlands. Veterans Reinkind and Sander Sagosen scored important goals as Norway took the lead 25-23. But Norway had to finish the match with one man less when Petter Øverby received the red card with just over five minutes left. Sander Sagosen (front) and Magnus Gullerud and the rest of Norway were big favorites against the Faroe Islands, but were unable to make it through. Photo: NTB – What do you do Reinkind? With just over 20 seconds it was 26-24 to Norway. Still, they managed to screw up the victory. That thanks to a penalty to the Faroe Islands with only seconds left. Norway and Harald Reinkind were only supposed to control a 26-25 victory, but then Reinkind lost the ball as the last man. – What are you doing Reinkind, Rowlands exclaimed. – You shouldn’t do that, it’s bad, bad, said Tvedten. The ball was intercepted by a Faroese player, who was fouled by Reinkind and thus received a penalty. The penalty was dispatched in the goal and it thus ended in a draw in Germany. – I hope they have enough beer in Berlin, because this is celebrated as a victory by the Faroe Islands’ supporters, says Tvedten. The Faroe Islands can now progress from the group stage, while for Norway there will be a group final against Slovenia on Monday. – There is a big chance that this point loss will end up meaning little for Norway, says Rowlands. The points from the match against Slovenia will go through to the main round. In order to secure a place in the semi-finals, it is probably crucial that Norway beat the Slovenians. Norwegian opponents in the next EC phase were also nailed down: Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Portugal. Match dates will not be available until midnight on Monday at the earliest. Sagosen told news: – Knew it was going to be tough – We knew it was going to be tough before the match. We know that they are a good handball team, says Sander Sagosen to news. – We stand and fight and fight. Then we stand for a long time in defence, get up in attack and burn some chances. We lead by three goals with two minutes left, and then we should really win, he continues. 10 percent of the population in the stands Before the match, there was a lot of talk about the 5,000 fans from the Faroe Islands who have made the trip to Berlin to cheer on the handball team in its EC debut. That is approximately 10 percent of the country’s population. It was praised by the Norwegian national team players before the match. – It is terribly funny that so many of them come from a completely new handball nation. The Faroe Islands are only going to get better and better, said Norway’s national team coach Wille.
ttn-69