Group A: Viljandi HC and Mistra won for the fourth time in a row
October 24, 2022
The Baltic Handball League weekend was very successful for Estonian teams. Viljandi HC and Mistra defeated Latvian teams and became the leaders of Group A.
TOP MATCH
Viljandi HC – HK Ogre/HYDROX 36:31 (19:17)
Viljandi – Ott Varik 9, Koks 6, Basarab 5.
Ogre – Haisa 8, Leja 6.
A lot of goals and a great fight in Viljandi. The Ogre team challenge the BHL champions. The home team led by just 2 goals after the first half. The Viljandi team gained a winning lead only after the break.
Kristo Voika (player, Viljandi):
The first half of the match was quite open. A lot of goals on both sides. We did not manage to find a good rhythm in defense. Offense was alright. 19 goals in the first half is not bad at all. Second half we started with a new defensive formation and it helped us get some easy goals. So that was the main reason why we had a nice victory. It was not easy but it was a necessary two points for us!
Richards Bisters (player, Ogre):
We had a great fight against the reigning champions. Unfortunately, we didn’t get there to secure the victory. At the start of the second half, opponents surprised the team with an active defence. But I am happy about the team’s spirit and the will to fight for the substitutes, even at the last minutes of the game.
Viljandi HC – ASK Zemessardze/LSPA 35:22 (21:15)
Viljandi – Ott Varik 14, Koks 4.
ASK – Ozols 6, Liepinš – 4.
Marko Koks (coach, Viljandi):
First of all we are pleased with four points and we can get playing time for everyone. Today we were a little bit more fresh than our opponent and our goal was to hold tempo and we managed to do that. In the second half there were a few problems with scoring fast breaks but overall we were satisfied.
Kristians Kelerts (player, ASK):
Two games in two days, very tough. Today, the opponents ran a lot of fastbreaks, we had analyzed this, but we could not show it on the field. In the first half, we were able to show an equal performance, but in the second half we broke down, we played without emotions both on the field and on the bench. We are not in our best physical condition at the moment, we are still missing key players in the team who could not help us due to injuries or illness. We need to work on team chemistry both offensively and defensively. We believe that with a full squad we are competitive in the Baltics as well, not only in Latvia, we are training and moving forward!
The Mistra team is not far behind the BHL champions. The Estonian club has won two more victories and together with Viljandi shares the leading position in Group A.
Raasiku/Mistra – ASK Zemessardze/LSPA 33:23 (17:12)
Mistra – Orlovskyi 7, Sokorovich, Vare, Naumenko – 4.
ASK – Stepulenoks 7, Petuhovs, Liepinš – 4.
Vladyslav Naumenko (player, Mistra):
First and foremost I would like to thank all the fans who came to support us at the home court. We were well prepared for the game. We knew the opponents would go for a high number of quick attacks and were able to eliminate that element in their game. In our own attacks we stuck to our combinations and tactics, all of which brought us this positive outcome today
Kristians Ingus Jonuška (player, ASK):
First game in BHL has ended. A rough start this season for our team with injuries.We are yet to play a game with a full squad this season. Considering the fact that we lost two key backcourt players at the last moment and our wing and pivot players had to fill those spots, we wouldn‘t expect any big miracles. I liked the emotion from our players in this game. We had a plan for how to play today, but we just couldn‘t execute it. Mistra today was just better on both ends of the floor. We will take the best from this game and keep building on that.
Raasiku/Mistra – HK Ogre/HYDROX 31:29 (15:14)
Mistra – Aus 11, Orlovskyi 10.
Ogre – Leja, Jomants 7, Haisa 6.
Juri Lepp (coach, Mistra):
Today our game wasn’t as good as it was yesterday. We weren’t ready for this game. The opponent played well, especially the goalkeeper. We did have more opportunities for substitutions. Happy with the result, not so much with the general gameplay
Gustavs Batna (player, Ogre):
Another hard-fought game. Very emotional and close game until the last seconds. Overall I think we played well, but we can do better. Some bad passes and missed shots also didn’t help us. On the other hand I think our bench was very helpful today, and the team spirit hasn’t been higher. Despite the loss we came out with positive emotions.
The next round of the BHL will take place on 12–13 November.
Group A
| Position | Team | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | +/- | Pts. |
| 1. | Viljandi HC | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 130 | 101 | 29 | 8 |
| 2. | Mistra | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 122 | 102 | 20 | 8 |
| 3. | HK Ogre/HYDROX | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 60 | 67 | -7 | 0 |
| 4. | Granitas-Karys | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 52 | 61 | -9 | 0 |
| 5. | HC Dragunas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 56 | -10 | 0 |
| 6. | ASK Zemessardze/LSPA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 45 | 68 | -23 | 0 |