NORWAY – SOUTH KOREA 26–20 (13-11 at halftime):
PARIS (Nettavisen): Norway secured another victory in the Paris Olympics on Tuesday when South Korea was defeated as expected.
However, it was still a slightly disorganized match from the Norwegian girls, marked by several mistakes and carelessness.
It was, however, pleasing that Henny Reistad was finally back on the court after missing the first two games.
The result means that Norway has now earned four points in the group stage and is on course for the quarter-finals in Lille.
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In the last ten minutes of the match, however, something occurred that the Norwegian girls did not appreciate. Marit Røsberg Jacobsen took a hit to the head and clearly signaled that she had suffered a head injury. The referees, however, allowed the game to continue.
Mørk reacted: – Didn’t like it
Nora Mørk was clearly dissatisfied with this, and the expression on the Norway star’s face said it all.
– I didn’t like that. It’s a 50-50 situation, and she gets a hit to the head, but that’s how it is; the referees decide, Mørk told Nettavisen after the match.
She was supported by Camilla Herrem, who also witnessed the incident.
– Yes, I completely agree. You can clearly see that she grabs her head, and it was a pretty clear collision there. But what can you do? It’s not me with the whistle, but with head injuries, the game should be stopped because you never know how it has gone, Herrem told Nettavisen.
Norway captain Stine Bredal Oftedal is also clear that the game should be stopped in such situations.
– I didn’t see the situation completely myself, so it’s hard to know for sure, but in principle, you really should stop then. That’s the rule, but it’s those who make that decision, the captain told Nettavisen about the incident.
Ole Gustav Gjekstad, who works for TVNorge during the Olympics, also reacted.
– That is directly wrong, Gjekstad said.
Regretted: – This is unusual
Norway had a good start in the first half and seemed to be able to create a lead on the scoreboard early on. At 5–2, things looked very good, but the Koreans were not planning to be run over by Norway and fought their way back into the match.
After just over ten minutes, the teams were even again at 5–5.
– Now we need to wake up here. Here comes South Korea again, said NRK commentator Rowlands.
It was a somewhat unfocused Norway that we saw in the first half. There were also many technical errors.
– It is a bit typical. They come in with a lot of confidence and want to try different things, then they make mistakes and throw the ball away, Tvedten said.
– Norway has made five technical mistakes in the first 15 minutes. That is unusual. That is far too many, the NRK expert believes.
Reistad back on the court
Henny Reistad has not played for the Norwegian team so far in the Olympics due to injury, but on Tuesday she was back on the court.
After around 12 minutes, she came onto the court, and it wasn’t long before she scored her first goal of the day.
Things didn’t quite go perfectly for the girl many consider to be the best handball player in the world.
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– Reistad seems eager to play but has made some mistakes. It’s probably a bit of over-enthusiasm, Rowlands said.
Despite a bit of sloppy play, Norway maintained a two-goal lead over the Koreans at halftime with 13–11.
– It has been a half marked by unfocused Norwegian play, while South Korea is as expected, Tvedten summarized.
– We have missed you!
After halftime, Norway kept the South Korean team at bay. It was 18–14 to Norway after just under ten minutes of the half.
Reistad became sharper and sharper in her finishing and was Norway’s top scorer with four goals at this point in the match.
– We have missed you! Now she is in and scoring for Norway. She is stepping up, Rowlands said.
Halfway through the second half, it became clearer and clearer that Norway would pull away in the score in the final phase. At the same time, Katrine Lunde had a fantastic game between the posts after halftime.
After 15 minutes, it was 20–15 to the Norwegian handball girls.
Slowly but surely, Norway pulled further away, and in the end, it was 26–20 in the Olympic hall.