EHFCL Round 9 preview: Meshkov Brest to host Vardar in another derby between SEHA teams

Marko Panic

Another interesting round for SEHA clubs is approching in the VELUX EHF Champions League. Handball lovers can be on the lookout for yet another derby between two SEHA teams. This time, Meshkov Brest will host reigning SEHA and European champions, Vardar. Furthermore, Eurofarm Rabotnik, Motor Zaporozhye and Tatran Presov will face away matches, while PPD Zagreb and Telekom Veszprem will be the hosts of new interesting clashes. 

(Group C) Cocks – Eurofarm Rabotnik 
After a tough home appearance in the previous round, Eurofarm Rabotnik will face another tough outing. This time, they will travel to Finland where they will meet with Cocks. These clubs already faced each other in the 4th round when team from Bitola secured tight 31:30 victory. Both teams currently have 2-6 score and are place on the bottom positions in Group C. Eurofarm Rabotnik are holding 5th position, while Cocks are placed on the 6th position. It will be an interesting clash where both teams will be looking to win new points and improve their standings in that group. 

(Group B) THW Kiel – Motor Zaporozhye 
Round 9 will put Motor Zaporozhye on a real test as they will play against THW Kiel on Wednesday, 20th of November. In Round 6 Kiel and Motor faced each other and German club took the points. Despite that, Motor Zaporozhye showed that they can be worthy opponents and put on an amazing play against some of the best European teams. Ukrainian gem is still waiting for their first victory of the season. So far, they have one draw and 7 losses behind them and are holding the bottom place in Group B. On the opposite, THW Kiel are placed on the top with 6 wins, one draw and one loss so far. 

(Group C) IK Savehof – Tatran Presov 
Tatran Presov will also face away appearance in this round. Slavko Goluza's squad will met with Swedish IK Savehof on Saturday, 23rd of November. The teams are currently placed one above the other on the table in Group C. The hosts are placed on the 3rd position, while Tatran Presov are one place behind them. But, the gap between them is 5 points as Savehof have 5 wins behind them, while Tatran Presov have only two so far. Both teams finished the previous round with a defeat so each side will be looking to come back on the winning track. 

(Group B) Meshkov Brest – Vardar 
SEHA clubs that will meet in this round are Meshkov Brest and Vardar. Belarusian champions will host reigning SEHA and European champions in Brest on Saturday as well. With last round's defeat, Vardar have downgraded on the table and are currently placed on the 5th position. Meshkov Brest are two places behind them with only one victory secured so far. In a clash between these SEHA clubs three rounds ago, Vardar dominanted on the court and took the points on the home court. This time, Belarusian gem will have the home court as their advantage as well as always loud and loyal fans on the sidelines.   

(Group B) Telekom Veszprem – PGE VIVE Kielce 
Just like in the previous round, Hungarian Telekom Veszprem will face a home court appearance. Only this time, instead of Meshkov Brest, they will clash with Polish PGE VIVE Kielce. It will be a tough clash between two great teams that are set on achieving big results this season. The teams are currenly equal when it comes to the number of points. Both of them have 10 points, but Telekom Veszprem are placed one position above Kielce on the table in Group B as they have 5 victories behind them, while Kielce have 4.  With successful outings in the previous round both teams have the confidence ahead of this derby. 

(Group A) PPD Zagreb – Elverum Handball 
The team that will close off the 9th round for SEHA clubs will be PPD Zagreb. Croatian champions will host Elverum Handball in Arena Zagreb on Sunday and their clash is scheduled for 17.00 (CET). This will be the re-match of their clash three rounds ago when teams ended up splitting points. After PPD Zagreb was in the lead for the whole match, Elverum Handball made a complete comeback and even had a chance to secure the win. It will be interesting to see how these teams prepared for this clash and will it be by any means similar to their previous one. PPD Zagreb will seek the chance for their first victory of the season as they are in desperate need of new points. Both teams have the same score so far, 1-7 and are holding the bottom positions in Group A. 

Wednesday, 20th of November :
18:00 Cocks – Eurofarm Rabotnik (Group C)
19:00 THW Kiel – Motor Zaporozhye (Group B)

Saturday, 23rd of November: 
16:00 IK Savehof – Tatran Presov (Group C)
17:30 Meshkov Brest – Vardar (Group B)
17:30 Telekom Veszprem – PGE VIVE Kielce (Group B)

Sunday, 24th of November:
17:00 PPD Zagreb – Elverum Handball (Group A)