– I am very proud and very happy that we are again among the top four, says Vipers goalkeeper Katrine Lunde. Vipers Kristiansand beat Rapid Bucuresti 40-31 in the last and decisive quarter-final in the Meisterliga. This means that the club is ready for the semi-finals of the Meisterliga. For the fourth season in a row. – I have never been there. It will be cool to experience it. It will be fantastic, says Vipers star Jamina Roberts. Vipers had a particularly good starting point before the return match, after they won the first 31-25 away from home. They therefore had six goals to go on before the return match at home in Kristiansand. The Vipers bench celebrates scoring against Rapid Bucharest. Photo: Tor Erik Schrøder / NTB Didn’t give up without a fight The Dutch national team star Estavana Polman and Bucharest did what they could to bring back the Vipers. It was a close and jam-packed match in Kristiansand on Saturday afternoon. It was 18-18 at the break. In the second half, the teams followed each other closely, as in the first. But 13 minutes into the half, Vipers showed what they can do. A gap of three meters got bigger and bigger. Parade march The guests from Romania were never able to catch up with the Vipers, and only scored one goal between 10 and 20 minutes into the second half. The last quarter was a pure parade for the Vipers in a packed home arena with almost 2,000 spectators. Thus, Katrine Lunde, Ana Vyakhireva, Jamina Roberts, Sunniva Nes Andersen, Markéta Jerábková and the other Vipers stars will once again fight for the championship gold during the playoff weekend “final 4” in Budapest on the first weekend in June. The “impossible” task Vipers have won the Champions League the last two seasons. Now they are fighting for their third straight gold in Europe’s most rewarding club tournament. Very few clubs have managed that before. Hungarian Györ managed it when they won in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Before that, we have to go all the way back to the 80s when Ukrainian Spartak Kyiv won four seasons in a row. – It takes a lot to win again, but that is what we are working towards, says Lunde. The stands were full when Vipers advanced to the semi-finals of the handball championship on Saturday. Photo: Tor Erik Schrøder / NTB Several Norwegians are fighting for the semi-finals To take another gold, the Vipers must first win the semi-finals. There they can meet more Norwegians. On Sunday, Esbjerg and CSM Bucuresti meet for the final and decisive quarter-final match in Romania. Esbjerg with Henny Reistad, Nora Mørk and a number of other Norwegian players on the team, won the first 32-28. But Bucharest, with Emilie Hegh Arntzen and Malin Aune in the team, has home ground advantage in Sunday’s match. Also Györ, with Stine Bredal Oftedal, Kari Dale and several other Norwegians on the team, is on course for a new semi-final. They beat Danish Odense with two goals in the away game last weekend. Nora Mørk and Denmark’s Esbjerg could be opponents for Vipers in the semi-finals of the Meisterliga in June. Photo: NTB
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Vipers ready for a new semi-final in the Meisterliga – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
