Runar secured a comfortable 37-24 victory over Haldsum HK in the Norwegian Cup on Monday evening. The match took place at the Haldsum arena on 25 August with a 17:30 kick-off. The hosts never threatened to overturn the margin, and the visitors ran out winners without real contest.
And here's the thing about Haldsum's recent form — they had been stringing together respectable results before this. Three wins in four games going back to early August, including a narrow 27-26 victory over Bekkelaget. But against Runar, they looked out of their depth from the opening exchanges.
Runar came into this fixture with mixed fortunes. They had suffered a 34-30 defeat to Elverum just two days prior, but before that they had put four goals past Bodo in a 41-22 scoreline. By then the contrast between their best and worst performances was already becoming apparent.
The result extends Runar's momentum after that heavy defeat to Elverum. They have not lost in their last five matches, with victories over Bodo, Follo, and Kragerø among them. This comfortable win should give them confidence heading into the next round.
Haldsum's defeat ends what had been a decent run of results. They had beaten Bekkelaget and Follo in August, but the 30-33 loss to Asane and the 25-36 defeat to Viking TIF earlier in the spring showed vulnerabilities. A 13-goal margin does not hide the gap in quality on display.