Molde had been considered unstoppable, but Flipper went to Olso with a strategy to shut down Molde’s speedy counter attacks. The upset victory by the Copenhagen club threw the third season of the European Underwater Rugby league open, raising the possibility of a new league champion.
Last month Flipper stunned Norwegian Molde by prevailing in an extremely physical 1 – 0 contest in Round 2 of the Euroleague last month in Oslo when veteran goalie Jørn Christoffersen sprinted the length of the pool to score on an open basket.
Flipper coach Mikkel Rasmussen and went to Olso with a well considered plan strategy to prevent Molde’s speedy counter attacks. First the Danes determined that they would cut down on turnovers by avoiding all speculative long passes. Secondly, Flipper decided to put a defensive full press on immediately every time Molde took the ball. Flipper also welcomed physically draining scrums on the surface. This strategy inevitably diminished Flipper’s own offensive punch. But the Danes were willing to settle for a tie against the two-time Euroleague Champions.
Oppporunity arose to break the tie
With less than a minute remaining in a scoreless game, Goalkeeper Christoffersen began a dive at mid pool and retreated along the bottom back to his own goal when Molde took possession. Lying in wait for an attack he saw that Flipper had recovered the ball. He sprinted forward to take a pass. Suddenly the 85-kilo goalie found himself on a adrenaline rush towards an open goal. The 37-year-old veteran beat the off guarding Molde defenders and jammed the ball in.
Comeback career
“They talked me into coming back to play on the Euroleague squad,” said Christoffersen, a two-time world champion (2003 and 2007), who had taken a step back from competition for a few years. These days he never misses a practice. The pay-off? A legendary goal in the history of underwater rugby.
Flipper does not face Molde again this season but Malmö Triton now has a good opportunity to win the league. The Swedish club may now attempt to copy Flipper’s strategy in the final match of the season on Saturday in Copenhagen’s Bellahøj Swimming Stadium.