The bad play of the third final match was a thing of the past when Grankulla IFK won FM gold in women’s handball on Friday evening. This despite the fact that the home team led the match for less than four minutes.
If you wait for something good, you never wait too long. Or something like that. However, Grankulla IFK’s 14-year championship break ended on Friday when the team beat Dicken 23-22 in the fourth final.
– It feels really good, I don’t think I’ve really understood what happened yet, says a euphoric Johanna Hilli who, despite having been in the game for a long time, only now won her first Finnish championship.
And the setting – it couldn’t have been better: a full house in Granigrotta, an even and exciting match and a bit of a knife-to-the-throat feeling for both teams.
If GrIFK’s home hall had been an ordinary sports hall, and not been ten meters underground in a population shelter, the roof could well have been raised when approximately 500 spectators after the final whistle cheered and shouted and celebrated together with the players who in their green game shirts embraced each other.
– Of course you would have hoped for a victory already on Tuesday, but that we could win in front of this audience and in our own hall is absolutely fantastic, says Hilli, now wearing a white t-shirt and a white cap with the text SUOMEN MESTARIT 2023.
The 28-year-old team captain was in great mood and accounted for no less than eleven goals – not bad considering that the entire GrIFK scored 23 goals.
– It’s a good balance, lucky that you succeed when it counts the most, you have to be satisfied, says Hilli, who nevertheless emphasizes that the championship is what counts.
Grani turned around at the end
Reigning champion team Dicken took the lead in the match right from the start and led the match for large periods – both in the first and second half. At the latest in the middle of the second half, it looked like the Drumsö club would force a fifth and decisive final in Britas.
But somewhat to the left, GrIFK managed to turn the tide and a 16–21 deficit was changed to victory with 23–22.
In fact, GrIFK led the match only during the last four minutes of the match. Or to be precise: for three minutes and 50 seconds.
– That was enough, you have to lead when the match is over and we did that, says Hilli.
GrIFK won the first two finals, but the third final was a miscalculation from Grankulla’s point of view. In the fourth final, the attitude was restored, according to assistant captain Corinna Jensen.
– In the last match, we conceded a lot of chances, but we managed to work them away quite well today. And then we worked full forward and full back, says an overjoyed Jensen who got a well-deserved championship after struggling for the past eight years.
– We had ice in our stomachs. Even though we were down, we cheered each other on and lifted each other up. And the crowd helped a lot, says Jensen, who in addition to his defensive effort contributed with four goals.
The FM gold was GrIFK’s second – the first came in 2009. At that time, most GrIFK players went to kindergarten or primary school.
And given that the men won the FM bronze last Thursday – even there GrIFK was better than Dicken – it’s fair to say that the 2022-2023 season was a success for the club.
The FM bronze medals were salvaged this year by HIFK.
