Baltic Sea League will see another match between Finland and Estonia

January 26, 2024

GrIFK Climbs to Second Place in Rankings Ahead of Final Tournament

There have been 23 games in the first ever Women’s Baltic Sea Handball league. This weekend will see the last fight before the final tournament in Lithuania at the end of March. Estonian team Mistra will face off against the Finnish side GrIFK. 

Mistra faced a defeat last Saturday against another Finnish team, Dicken. In their domestic leagues, Mistra rebounded with a victory in their last game against Tapa. GrIFK also secured a similar result, earning two points from Siuntio. Both teams currently hold the second position in their respective domestic leagues.

Playmaker Kim-Ly Hoang from Mistra commented on the upcoming match, stating, “We have to reduce the number of technical faults. We simply cannot afford to lose the ball as much as we did last weekend against the fast and aggressive Finns, who will capitalize on our every mistake. We need to put in a better effort in defense and hope to give a strong performance in front of our home fans.”

The Estonian team is currently in seventh place, having played four games and won one of them. The Finnish team has also played four matches but has secured three victories, placing them in fifth position. The Finnish team recently won against their domestic rival, Dicken, with their only loss coming against the Lithuanian club Kaunas Zalgiris.

GrIFK point guard Johanna Hilli expressed the team’s excitement to play in the Baltic Sea League again. She emphasized that the new opponents pose interesting challenges, and their team is prepared to face them. Hilli also mentioned that despite having a domestic league match this week, they have prepared adequately and are going for the two points. Their goal is to win the entire series, and therefore, every point is crucial. Hilli herself has scored 23 times in four games, making her the top scorer for her team.

Lithuanian and Finnish clubs dominate the Baltic Sea League, occupying the first six positions. The league is currently led by the Lithuanian team VMSM-Sostines Tauras, followed by Dicken. In the third position, we find HC Garliava, followed by Vilnius, GrIFK, and Kaunas. However, the gaps and the number of games played vary, ensuring plenty of excitement leading up to the final tournament.

Women´s Baltic Sea league game this weekend:

27.01 15:00 Aruküla Sportshall GrIFK – Mistra

On the Photo: GrIFK (white) and Mistra(blue) will play this saturday (Photo: Joonas Kuuskla/Eesti Käsipalliliit)