EHFCL Round 4 recap: dominance on the home court by Telekom Veszprem, first points for Eurofarm Rabotnik

Rasmus Lauge Schmidt

The 4th round of the EHF Champions League was very interesting for SEHA clubs. While Telekom Veszprem, Meshkov Brest and Eurofarm Rabotnik secured important victories on the home court, the rest of the clubs did not manage to win points. 

(Group A) Flensburg-Handewitt – PPD Zagreb 20:17 (10:10)
In a extremely tight match, German team Flensburg-Handewitt secured a victory over PPD Zagreb 20:17 (10:10). Croatian champions opened the match powerfully and had four goals advantage in the 15th minute. As the time went by, the home team got closer and eventually tied the result. After 10:10 on the half-time, Veselin Vujovic's squad started the second half great. They were two goals up when Flensburg started to make a comeback. At the end, the home court and amazing atmosphere carried German team to another victory. The best scorers in the winning team were Johannes Golla with 5 goals and Goeran Soegaard Johannessen with 4 goals. On the other side, Zlatko Horvat with 5 goals and Matej Hrstic with 3 goals were the biggest stars in the guest team. 

(Group B) Vardar – THW Kiel 20:31 (4:16)
The reigning SEHA and European champions, Vardar did not manage to secure another victory on the home court. This time, German THW Kiel were too strong for Red and Blacks. On Saturday, 12th of October Kiel outplayed Vardar 31:20 (16:4). From the very beginning, the guest team dominated on the court. Vardar did not have a solution for Kiel's tough defense which resulted in 10:1 lead for the guest team. With only 4 goals scored in the first 30 minutes of the match, it was clear that team from Skopje could not count on winning new points. Even though they stepped up their play in the second half, Kiel's advantage was too big to equalize. In the end, the guest team finished the match in a victorious way. Hendrik Pekeler with 8 goals and Domagoj Duvnjak with 6 goals carried Kiel to their victory. Timur Dibirov with 5 goals and Dainis Kristopans with 4 goals were the best scorers in Vardar's team. 

(Group C) Tatran Presov – IK Savehof 23:28 (10:16)
Slovakian Tatran Presov also did not have much luck on the home court. Swedish team IK Savehof were better than Slavko Goluza's squad 28:23 (16:10). From the start of the match, the guest team showed serious ambitions for winning the points that day. With great defense and efficient play in the offense, Savehof secured five goals lead in the 17th minute. Their advantage only got bigger as the time went by. The home team got closer to them in the second half, but did not manage to make a complete comeback. Brilliant Gzim Salihi netted 10 times for the guest team, while unstoppable Javier Munoz Cabezon scored 8 goals for Tatran Presov. 

(Group B) Meshkov Brest – Motor Zaporozhye 33:31 (16:19) 
This clash was very interesting as it featured two SEHA clubs. A well-known SEHA team, Meshkov Brest took the points on the home court against Ukrainian champions Motor Zaporozhye. Even though the guest team played more efficiently in the first half, the Belarusian champions made a turnover in the second half and secured 33:31 (16:19) victory in the end. William Accambray who scored 6 goals and Jaka Malus who scored 5 goals were the biggest stars in the winning team. On the other side, Aidenas Malasinskas netted 9 times for Motor Zaporozhye while Igor Soroka scored 7 goals. 

(Group B) Telekom Veszprem – Porto Sofarma 38:28 (19:16)
Telekom Veszprem secured important victory in front of their fans in Veszprem Arena. On Sunday, 13th of October Hungarian champions were better than Porto Sofarma 38:28 (19:16). Even though the guest team started the match better and secured 3 goals advantage early in the first half, Veszprem did not give up. They made a complete comeback in the 10th minute. After they tied the result, David Davis' squad got in the lead. Their dominance on the court continued in the second half when they showed amazing skills and incredible team spirit. Andreas Nilsson carried the winning team with 8 goals, while Victor Manuel Iturriza Alvarez netted 6 times for the guest team. 

(Group C) Eurofarm Rabotnik – Cocks 31:30 (17:13) Eurofarm Rabotnik won their first points of the season in the EHF Champions League. In a thrilling match, pride of Bitola secured 31:30 (17:13) victory against Cocks. Eurofarm dominated on the court in the first 30 minutes. But, the guest team woke up after the half-time and managed to equalize in the 40th minute. After that, the goal-by-goal play was seen in Boro Curlevski hall. With only 2 minutes left on the clock, the teams were tied. Then Goce Ojleski scored for 31:30 which turned out to be the winning shot for the home team. With 8 goals scored, Vladislav Ostroushko was the best scorer in the winning team. Teemu Tamminen netted 6 times for Cocks.