Debut Hopes at Great Britain v Finland

GREAT Britain Women will be hoping to repeat their 2009 victory over Finland when they play them again - twice - in the qualifying stages of the 2012 European Championship this weekend (June 3-4).

GB won both legs of their Euro 2010 tie, culminating in a thrilling first home victory for the British team at the Echo Arena in Liverpool two years ago to make it through to the group stages, and will be aiming to do the same again on Friday and Saturday night.

But this time both matches are at home - at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London to be exact - and this time there is a host of other handball action to keep spectators well entertained.

The first match is on Friday evening at 7.30pm, while the second is exactly 24 hours later.

Friday’s match could mark a first official international cap for two members of the team - Yvonne Leuthold and Dani Sposi (pictured).

The pair have been involved with the GB set-up for many years, having played in unofficial internationals and attended many training camps around the world.

Leuthold is now eligible to play after a three-year wait for her clearance to come through. And after several years of living in London, Sposi has also finally received a British passport.

It may also mark an GB international debut for Charlotte Le Blanc, a welcome new addition to the team who plays her club handball with HC de Belley in France.

But of course the match is being played in familiar surroundings for much of the team, who are settling into their new homes in the Crystal Palace area as part of British Handball’s exciting link-up with GLL who run a number of sporting venues around the capital, including the National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace.

GLL are providing help with accommodation, training facilities, jobs and a host of other areas, and we are indebted to them for their expert assistance.

The last time Finland and GB met over two legs was in the 2010 European Championships, where the top-scorers were Britt Goodwin and Holly Lam-Moores with eight each, while Annette Tallqvist was Finland’s best, also bagging eight goals.

Tallqvist scored five goals for Finland in their 25-25 draw against Portugal in the 2011 World Championship qualifying stage, a result which was to provide their only points of the championship.

But GB fared better, beating Slovakia and Cyprus to finish third in their group and only narrowly miss out on reaching the next stage.