#DELOEHFCL QUARTER-FINALS FIRST LEG

Vipers Kristiansand vs Rostov-Don 34:27 (19:12)

By Chris O’Reilly

After wild ride in Russia, Vipers Kristiansand emerged seven-goal winners over Rostov-Don in the first leg quarter-final double-header, putting them in pole position in the race to Budapest.

Before they do it all again on Sunday, here are the ratings for all players involved in the match and the two head coaches, with everyone rated on a scale from 1 (the worst) to 10 (the best).

Vipers Kristiansand

Ole Gustav Gjekstad – 9
Set his team up perfectly to win this game and everything fell into place. Will be left worried by the second half slump but knows he has the on-court leaders to pull them through.

Nora Mørk – 9
Played an absolute blinder, what a way to mark her first full game after injury. Six of her nine goals came from the back court, where she was dominant in the first half. The most surprising aspect of Mørk’s performance was her role in defence, where she really got stuck in and contributed.

Heidi Løke – 9
Led Vipers’ charge midway through the first half with a pair of hard-fought goals on the line, which typified her performance. Her intensity at both ends of the court inspired her teammates and put Rostov off their game. Scored all six of her shots on goal and was a visible leader in Vipers’ rough moments.

Henny Reistad – 8
The leader of Vipers’ resuscitation in the final 10 minutes with some top-notch goals. Had a dodgy spell midway through the second half as her space was restricted but soon found a way around it and showed her ability to rise up when it matters most in attack and the centre of defence.

Katrine Lunde – 7
Won the goalkeeper battle by a country mile. With 11 saves at 31%, it wasn’t the most astonishing performance but Lunde made important and momentum-shifting saves, particularly from the wings and breakthrough shots. After a period of the second half where she couldn’t buy a save, Lunde stepped up when needed most to make a pair of big stops.

Vilde Kaurin Jonassen – 7
Heavily involved in defence out on the left wing, getting a suspension and forcing a nice attacker foul in the opening quarter. Was perfect from her shots on the left wing, scoring four from four in the first half.

Jana Knedlikova – 7
Solid performance on the right wing. Wasn’t called upon too often with most of the action happening down the middle but got the job done when called upon with three goals from four shots.

Emilie Hegh Arntzen – 6
The impact substitute role seemed to suit her well as she displayed her best attacking skills in a big game for the first time in a while. Once she gets a head of speed up with the ball, she is hard to stop and she had some opportunities to showcase that with Vipers’ speed today.

Ragnhild Dahl – 5
Started at left back but was unable to make the impact she would have liked but no complaints can be made as she fulfilled a supporting role for her in-form teammates.

Hanna Yttereng – 5
Defensive specialist at the beginning and stayed there for the most part with Heidi Løke in top attacking form. Caught out for a suspension once in the second half but was largely assured in the centre of defence.

Marta Tomac – 5
Mostly used as a temporary filler for Reistad and looked a bit cautious. More comfortable when given a bit more time and space to work with in the second half and fired in a much-needed goal as Rostov were fighting back.

Sunniva Naes Andersen – 4
Had a much quieter time than her teammate on the left wing as Vipers tried a more route one approach in attack. Scored just one goal and was replaced after getting a soft suspension.

Malin Aune – 3
Called inside by the referees for two shots, which is really unusual at this level. After those two calls and a missed shot, she was replaced by Knedlikova.

No rating
Andrea Austmo Pedersen, Tonje Refsnes, Linn Sulland, June Andenaes

Rostov-Don

Per Johansson – 4
His side were completely outplayed from the 10^th minute and there was no response until it was almost too late. The changes made early in the second half worked well and he remained loyal to his tactics, simply calling for more passion and physicality from his players in timeouts.

Grace Zaadi – 8
Rostov’s driving force in the first half, scoring half of their goals, including four from the penalty line.
Moved the ball well but needed to take on more responsibility beyond playmaking. Combined really well with Bobrovnikova in the second half and became a nuisance with Rostov’s more active defence.

Victoriya Borschenko – 7
Besides one poor miss, was very reliable on the left wing with three goals. Dropped a brilliant pass into the line in the second half.

Vladlena Bobrovnikova – 7
Guaranteed to put up a fight, no matter how badly things are going. It was her rugged determination that helped her side fight back within four goals at one point as she scored five goals to become Rostov’s top scorer from open play.

Anna Lagerquist – 6
Was left a bit stranded by Vipers’ direct attacking approach in the first half but improved greatly in the second, helping to slow the opponents’ attack down while scoring three goals in five minutes as Rostov came to life.

Iuliia Managarova – 6
Left frustrated early on in attack and took matters into her own hands by getting involved at right back with some success. Moved to right back full-time in the second half and injected some much-needed pace into the Rostov attack.

Milana Tazhenova – 5
Did a good job of keeping Mørk relatively quiet in the second half. Filled in wherever was needed in attack but was unable to make much of a mark until scoring a nice goal on the left wing at the end.

Katarina Krpez-Slezák – 5
Came on in the second half at the front of Rostov’s defence in a move which stumped Vipers for a while. Could have been used earlier to offer a bit more balance in attack but when she did come on, she scored one of her two shots.

Ksenia Makeeva – 4
Unable to match Vipers’ pace in defence and was left somewhat stranded in attack, getting just one shot on goal and not scoring it.

Anna Sen – 4
Filling in at right back with Vyakhireva missing and while she played an important role at both ends of the court, had no joy in front of goal. Unable to make her physical presence felt until midway through the second half.

Viktoriia Kalinina – 3
Stats early on were not great but she was unfortunate with a couple of saves sneaking over the line and a couple given as penalties. Made just two saves in the second half and a 16% save rate in the end left plenty to be desired.

Galina Gabisova – 2
Came in for a short spell, facing eight shots and was unable to make a save.

No rating
Kristina Kozhokar, Daria Tkacheva, Alexandra Smirnova, Kristina Sorokina, Valeria Sobkalo