It has been quite a while since the last Baltic Handball League weekend, but the pace will be picking up now and we will have international handball every month. This weekend is greatly anticipated, as the first games six weeks ago showed how incredibly balanced the league is with many matches being decided in final seconds.
One more key question for this weekend is, how will the group standings look after the matches. Opening weekend with some shock results created two very different groups – in Group A we have five teams with two points and just one team without a defeat. In the meantime, in Group B there are three teams with six points and three with nothing. With some very interesting matches ahead, the standings will definitely look different on Sunday evening.
Celtnieks relying on Tihanovs
The only team without a win in the Group A is Celtnieks Riga, though they only played one game during opening weekend. They are now hosting matches against SKA Minsk and Dragunas Klaipeda, respectively last year’s BHL and BCL champions. “Tough opposition, no question about that,” admits Celtnieks president Normunds Blome.
“We are looking at videos and preparing seriously, though we do understand how tough the games will be. SKA is obviously preparing for the next round of EHF Cup. So perhaps they will be experimenting a bit against us, which will give us some chances,” has Blome hopes to surprise.
Celtnieks had a great preparation for the weekend, as they defeated closest rival ASK-LSPA 30-23 in the domestic league (Volodymyr Maslak 12 goals) and are now just one point behind their last opponent in third place. “We were clearly the better team and have some players in top form, especially our goalkeeper Helmuts Tihanovs. He was absolutely outstanding in Latvia’s win over Ukraine last week,” praised Blome Celtnieks’s international goalkeeper.
BHL and BCL champions to visit newcomer
Surprisingly, the only team in Group A, who did not lose on the opening weekend, is HK Ogre/Miandum, but as Celtnieks, the BHL newcomer only played one match. Ogre has not started well in the Latvian league and are currently lying fifth. Their task will not be easy this weekend, as last year’s champions Dragunas and SKA will be visiting Ogre’s sports hall.
Perhaps the biggest shock of the opening weekend was title-holder SKA’s defeat in the hands of HC Kehra/Horizon Pulp&Paper. The two Estonian teams in the group (the other is Viljandi HC) were supposed to meet on Sunday, but due to the clash with Estonian Cup quarter-finals – which has drawn the same pair – the match is postponed until further notice.
This time SKA’s pre-match could have probably gone better, as the team lost first point in the Belarus league. A 29-29 draw against HC Gomel (Aliaksei Khadkevich 8) means SKA now has 13 and Gomel 11 points from 7 matches in the preliminary rounds of the championships. Dragunas had a better day on Wednesday, as they won a domestic game against Ula Varena 40-23 (Mindaugas Meškauskas 9) and continue unbeaten on top of the league.
Tenax lost leader Oskars Arajs to knee injury
Group B’s weekend will consist five matches and will also stage the first of the season on Belarus soil, as local teams HC Vityaz Minsk and HC Meshkov Brest will meet. The other four games will all take place in Estonia, as Serviti Põlva will host two of them and Cocks Riihimäki will play their home matches in Kehra. The visiting teams for these days will be Tenax Dobele and Granitas-Gaja-Karys Kaunas.
Latvian champion Tenax has had an incredible start to the season – they won both opening BHL games and have recorded 8 wins out of 8 games in Latvian league. On Tuesday, Tenax destroyed MSG/LAT-98 40-19 in the domestic competition (Toms Lielais 14). “Yes, it has been a good start for us, but the opposition in Latvia is not always too strong, so we should not look too much into that,” Tenax manager Ivars Zarinš explained.
“Unfortunately, the international break did not do us good, as our leading player Oskars Arajs suffered a serious knee injury playing against Ukraine,” announced Zarinš the bad news. “In addition, Nils Kreicbergs returned with a back problem, so he is not 100% fit either. Nevertheless, we want to fight for points, although the opposition is very strong. We have not played against Serviti or Cocks in some years now, so it will be a great experience.”
Granitas travelling with low expectations
The other visiting team to Estonia this weekend will be Granitas-Gaja-Karys, who like Tenax had a great start to BHL season with two wins. During midweek, Granitas took a 32-28 victory over HC Utena (Paulius Šarkauskas and Deivydas Virbauskas 6) and are currently third in Lithuanian league, four points behind leaders Dragunas.
“We are still experimenting a lot and trying to build a new team,” admits Granitas’ director Algis Mikučionis. “A lot of young players have been involved and currently we have about 21 players in the squad. We hope we can find the right line-up and build something here, then qualify for BHL play-offs and perhaps be in top form by that time. From the trip to Estonia I do not expect much – one point would be nice, but the opposition is very strong.”
One of the opponents will be Cocks, who started with two wins over Serviti – both by one-goal margin. The Finnish champion found themselves in domestic league on a surprising second place by midweek, but then destroyed leader Dicken Helsinki 39-23 (Viktor Kovalenko 9) and claimed the first place back.
Unlike Tenax, Granitas and Cocks, Estonian champion Serviti is in serious need for points. Their busy week consists a 54-24 cup win on Tuesday over TÜ/Glassdrive (Henri Sillaste 11), late night league match on Thursday and two BHL encounters. “Our goal, as always, is Final Four, so it’s time to get some points,” said Serviti head coach Kalmer Musting. “Our team is in good shape, but we do not know too much about this weekend’s opponents, having not played Tenax and Granitas for years.”
Full match schedule: http://www.baltichandball.net/calendar
