Norway and Slovenia were already assured of advancement to the main round after Poland beat the Faroe Islands earlier this evening. Nevertheless, the Norwegians and Slovenians had a lot to fight for – two important points. But after a nerve-wracking match, Norway drags on in the EC. That makes Norway’s path to the EC play-offs much more difficult. – We have put ourselves in a difficult position. It will be difficult to move on. We must win all four games, says goalkeeper Torbjørn Bergerud to news. – It will be tough. We have tough opponents in Hamburg. All you have to do is roll up your sleeves and win the rest, says Petter Øverby. Norway’s top scorer Sander Sagosen was clearly frustrated after the match and hid his head under a towel and threw bottles from the bench. – Disappointed and frustrated. We lay down our lives to try to make it happen. We sacrifice a lot to be here. We do the best we can. Then it’s boring not to succeed. It’s simply boring, he says to news. Coach Jonas Wille is also disappointed that they lose a match, which they led for a long time. – We burn clear and big chances. We end up again in a position where we play very stiffly in the attacking game at the end, which perhaps bears the mark of the situation where you feel pressured, he says to news. NORWAY’S TOP SCORER: Sander Sagosen scored six goals. Photo: NTB – This is fair play Slovenia scored the first two goals of the match, but then Norway tightened the grip. After Sander Sagosen scored 5-4, Norway maintained a narrow lead for a long time. The Slovenians kept getting closer, and when Alexander Blonz missed a free throw for Norway, Gasper Marguc countered nicely and reduced the score to 8–7. Norway recovered, but were unable to shake off the Slovenians. With six minutes left in the first half, it was 14-14 after two goals by Aleks Vlah. STRONG: Aleks Vlah broke through and scored five goals for Slovenia in the first half. Photo: Reuters Norway continued to leak backwards and it was tied at 17-17 at the break. – We concede far too many goals. They isolated us too much in the middle. We have to ensure a tight circle and move more, Tvedten concluded after the first half hour. – Very, very weak Norway’s assistant coach Martin Boquist thought the match started well, but that Slovenia were skilled at making quick decisions. – They are tricks. We have to try to defend five more seconds. We will do what we are good at, which is running. Then we will probably win this match, he told news before the second half. Norway were effective in the first minutes of the second half. And as in the first half, Grøndahl was safe from the penalty spot. Tobias Grøndahl was safe from the penalty spot. Photo: NTB Shortly afterwards, Norway missed three times in a row. After 40 minutes, Slovenia equalized at 21–21. – It is very, very weak, said Tvedten. After five minutes, Slovenia took the lead when Dean Bombac scored 23-24. Then the Slovenians were severely punished by the referees with two two-minute penalties. Norway took advantage of that, and Grøndahl equalized for Norway on a free throw. Three out of three for the 22-year-old from the penalty spot. Slovenia’s last chance Urban Lesjak was certainly in goal, and Norway was unable to score more goals during the double two-minute period. The teams continued to follow each other closely, and it was 27-27 two minutes before the end. Then Petter Øverby was given a two-minute time limit to keep on the line. With a man down, Slovenia took the lead after Vlah’s seventh goal of the day. Then Norway took a time-out. Norway was unable to equalise, and Slovenia won 27–28. – We never got to the isolation situation we wanted to get to. It ebbed into a free throw. It’s boring, says coach Wille. Øvreby tells news after the match that the loss was “upsetting”. – We had the opportunity to decide the game earlier, and not have to play with so much pressure at the end. SKUFFA: A dejected Harald Reinkind. Photo: NTB
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