BURY’S Kathryn Fudge top scored with six in a nine-goal victory over Finland as Great Britain women’s handball team put one foot in the group stages of the 2012 European Championships.

Their 31-22 victory at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre was followed by a convincing 27-20 defeat of the Finns in the second leg on Friday to seal an aggregate victory.

The British team now join world champions Russia, Montenegro and Poland in group three of the qualifiers.

Fudge, aged 21, and her team-mates were boosted by the attendance of the British Olympic Association’s performance director, Sir Clive Woodward, who was watching his first live handball match.

“I thought it was fantastic,” he said. “The athleticism and physicality was very impressive and it was a great game to watch. I am proud of them, because it starts from the top and British Handball really have the leadership and organisation right and that filters down into the rest of the team.

“There is not a lot of money in this sport, but to see the girls and their enthusiasm is great and I’m sure they can surprise a few people in London 2012.”

British Handball was one of the eight sports to suffer as a result of UK Sport’s financial shortfall in 2009.

It resulted in their centralised training programme in Denmark closing and players were forced to scout the continent in search of professional club contracts. But a new funding deal announced at the end of 2010 has seen the creation of a new centralised programme at Crystal Palace.