Elverum saw off Runar 33-30 in the NM Cup on Thursday, keeping their unbeaten run going after a tight contest that went to the wire. The result follows a meeting between the sides just over a week earlier, when Runar took a narrow win on home turf.
and here's the thing — we had Elverum to win this, at 69 per cent confidence. The prediction held up. They managed the game better when it mattered, and the margin tells you they were in control when it counted.
Elverum come into this on a decent run. They beat Sen-Raphaël Handball 36-32 on Saturday, then took down Runar 40-35 on Tuesday. Before that came victories over Hammarby IF, Bergsøy and Fjellhammar — five straight wins without a slip.
Runar's form has been less consistent. They lost to Elverum away on Tuesday, then beat Viking 45-26 on Friday. Three wins in five games, including a comfortable scoreline against Lillesstrøm, but the away defeat to Elverum was the one that stood out.
The NM Cup is a competition where you can't afford to take your foot off the gas. Elverum showed they understand that, and they did not travel to make up the numbers. They played with purpose and came away with the points.
by then you can see the gap opening up. Elverum's consistency is telling, and Runar will need to find a way to close it if they want to stay in contention.
