La Rioja stop Magdeburg’s perfect run with a draw
The Spanish team were doing their best to keep up with Magdeburg and were very good at it. Magdeburg could not break away and brought a nail-biting finish for all handball fans. La Rioja took over the lead in the 55th minute and had a chance for a win, but after Jannick Green’s last-second save, the Spanish team celebrated a draw.
Magdeburg’s perfect start of the season with 16 wins in total and two in this competition was shattered.
Group C
BM Logroño La Rioja (ESP) vs SC Magdeburg (GER) 29:29 (13:16)
- La Rioja were in the lead early in the match (4:2), but Magdeburg’s four goals in a row turned the table (9:12)
- both teams had a three-goal run in the second half, setting up an exciting end of the match (26:26)
- La Rioja had a shot for the win, but Jannick Green was ready for it
- the key for the home team’s big point was confident Agustin Casado Marcelo with ten goals in total and Aliaksandr Markelau’s ten saves
- Jannick Green’s saves during the second half and goals by Omar Ingi Magnusson kept Magdeburg’s dream of maintaining the winning streak alive
Team spirit making the impossible possible
La Rioja had good support from the stands and didn’t stop for a minute against Magdeburg. The whole team strongly believed they could stop their opponents and didn’t lose hope even when they were trailing by three goals. Almost every player scored tonight; only three of them couldn’t net and in the crucial moments they had the support of Aliaksandr Markelau between the posts and the cold precision of Augustin Casado Marcelo. Even though they only took a point, they celebrated like champions.
We knew that it was a team hard to beat, being the unbeaten leader of the German league, but we managed to close the match with a tie. The second half was a big come-up for our team, our players got their heads in the game, and things flowed for us. The tie might be bittersweet, but it was really important for our players to get the confidence in themselves they need.
