Sweden went out rock hard in the final group game. And then Finland’s floorball ladies joined in at all. The Swedes showed why the country is a big World Cup gold favorite and won with a comfortable 9-3.
That Sweden would start aggressively and fiercely in front of the home crowd was something that was pointed out in the Finnish camp before the last group game in the women’s World Cup.
But once the Finns got to feel the Swedish press for real, they could not resist. Finland barely got over the center line with the ball in the first period.
Sweden forced its opponents to make mistakes and exploited them mercilessly. When just over five minutes had been played, Ellen Backstedt and Moa Gustafsson had fixed a Swedish two-goal lead. Before the break, Klara Loneberg had finished a lightning-fast counterattack to 3-0.
– The match had quite a few different phases. In the beginning, we were probably weak and lacked the courage with a ball that would have been required to invite to dance, admits Finnish national team captain Lasse Kurronen for Yle.
The most important piece of the puzzle was rested
The blue and yellows poured on even in the first five minutes of the second period. Then the lead grew to a naughty 6-0 and the match smelled decided.
After that, Sweden, which has taken the last seven golds, did not put as much pressure and the pace on the pitch slowed down. Then Finland could get into the match in earnest.
Kurronen chose to rest the superstar Veera Kauppi. The key player followed most of the match from the bench, but had to come in when it was time for powerplay in the second period.
– Veera is certainly the most important piece of the puzzle in this team. But it is for understandable reasons that she is resting, thought Yle’s expert Katri Luomaniemi, referring to the upcoming playoff games.
– Today the line-up looked like this. We want to get everyone into the game, this is a team sport and we have a good squad, Kurronen justifies.
“The only match we can lose”
With Kauppi on the pitch at powerplay, Finland also scored her first goal of the match – and it was she who netted on a pass from My Kippilä.
In the third period, Johanna Homi and Hanna Niemelä also each reduced. Sweden won in the end with a clear 9-3, but Kurronen was not very worried.
– This was really the only match we have to lose here. This was good training (before the quarterfinals) and that’s how we went into today’s match.
– Now the tournament begins, it is important to be ready on Thursday.
Thus, Sweden wins group B before Finland in second place. So far, it is unclear who Finland will face in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
The article is updated!
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