Matchweek 7: Matches between the Leader Teams in Groups A and B

February 9, 2023

There will be four BHL games this weekend: one in Group B and three in Group A. Four teams will finish the regular season this weekend. The last Matchweek of the regular season will take place on 25–26 February.

TOP MATCH

The only Group B match will be between the Estonian and Latvian champions who are leading the group. The Pölva Serviti club, who has already secured first place in the group, will play away against the ZRHK TENAX Dobele team. This will be the last match of the regular season for both teams. Pölva Serviti has already secured first place in the group. For ZRHK TENAX Dobele, this is a crucial match in their fight to finish as high as possible in the group. The Pölva Serviti handball players won their first match in Estonia 36:28.

Kalmer Musting (coach, Pölva Serviti):
It is an important match for us, even though we have already secured first place in the group. We want to win and show a well-played game. We do not have many matches against strong rivals this season. Therefore, the match against Dobele will be a good test of our strength. Dobele is a strong team and has an impressive recent winning streak. It is a very important match for the opponents, as it could determine Dobele’s place in the group. No team wants to rank fourth and meet the winners of the other group. Therefore, we will have a good and tough match. We will aim for the victory.

ZRHK TENAX Dobele has already won 14 games in a row in the Latvian Virsliga championship and the BHL. The last defeat for the Latvian champions was on 12 November last year.

Sandris Veršakovs (coach, ZRHK TENAX Dobele):
We have already achieved our main goal, which is to qualify for the play-offs. But now we want to finish as high as possible in the group. If we beat Polva, we could rank second in the group. Although at this stage, it is difficult to predict what the play-offs have in store for us, as it is unclear how the competition in Group A will end. We are winning a lot right now, but we are not in good shape. Some of our leaders are recovering from injuries and we will be without our strongest players. This will be the last home game of the regular season for us, and we want to prove in front of our home crowd that we can win and get even with Polva. The fact that the champions of the two countries will meet adds to the intrigue. Every team wants to prove that it is stronger than their neighbours are.

In Group A, the leader teams Viljandi HC and Mistra will also meet. The leader teams are fighting for 1st place in the group. In their first head-to-head match, Viljandi HC won 29:23. The last match between these teams took place on 23 January. Viljandi HC defeated Mistra 25:22 in the Estonian Meistriliiga championship and avenged two defeats faced at the beginning of the Estonian championship.

The other matches in Group A will also be derbies. Two Lithuanian clubs Granitas-Karys Kaunas and Dragūnas Klaipeda will meet in Kaunas. Two Latvian teams HK Ogre/HYDROX and ASK Zemessardze/LSPA will meet in Ogre. It will be the last game of the BHL regular season for both Latvian teams, as they have no hope of making the play-offs. For HK Ogre/HYDROX, this is also their last chance to get their first points in this BHL season.