Ogre handball side earns first win in Baltic League
Latvia's HK Ogre/RSU beat Lithuania's HC Vilnius 32:30 in the Baltic Handball League, collecting their first points of the competition. The home match was played in Aizkraukle because the Ogre sports centre hall was unavailable.
Latvian handball team HK Ogre/RSU beat Vilnius-based HC Vilnius 32:30 (12:14 at half-time) in a Baltic Handball League match. It was the Ogre side's first victory in the competition, giving them their first points.
The home fixture was staged at the Aizkraukle Municipality Sports Centre, as the hall at the Ogre Municipality Sports Centre was not available.
How the game unfolded
The hosts began better and led 6:3 after ten minutes. Later, with the scoreboard showing 10:7 to Ogre, the visitors scored three unanswered goals, levelled the match and went into the break ahead, 14:12.
In the second half Ogre repeatedly came within a goal, but Vilnius kept a narrow lead for a long time. In the final 15 minutes Toms Lielais levelled at 22:22, and after several accurate shots from Uvis Strazdiņš and Lielais, Ogre went three goals clear (25:22) for the first time since early in the game. The visitors drew level again at 28:28, but late on Artis Laganovskis restored the lead, Aliaksei Haisa scored an important goal, and Lielais and Strazdiņš sealed the result in the last minute.
Coach's assessment
Head coach Rihards Leja said playing a home game in another hall was unusual and the team needed time to get used to the larger space, which led to technical errors in passing. In his view, the team was too passive in central defence in the first half. In the second half it improved in the centre of defence, at times switched to a 5:1 defensive system and used its scoring chances better. "We are happy about the first points!" the coach said.
Top scorers
For Ogre, Toms Lielais scored eight goals, Uvis Strazdiņš seven and Aliaksei Haisa six, four of them from the seven-metre line. Reinis Zellis added four. For Vilnius, Laurynas Palevičius led with nine goals and Martynas Lapinskas scored seven.
HK Ogre/RSU's next Baltic League match is on 19 December, at home against SK Tapa.
