Dramatic draw in Hungary; Celje, Ohrid, Izvidac set sights on semi-finals

QUARTER-FINALS, FIRST LEG

• 14 goals from Savvas Savvas were not enough for former EHF European Cup finalists Olympiacos SFP against GRK Ohrid; after a hectic start with some turnover struggles on both sides, the guests took a three-goal lead after 20 minutes (10:7), benefiting from their much better shooting efficiency; Ohrid continued to extend their advantage, leading by five goals at half-time and maintaining that advantage after 43 minutes (22:17). 
• Olympiacos' defensive switch helped them cut the disadvantage to three, as they kept the visitors scoreless for five minutes, until 23:20 in the 49th minute; two crucial saves by a phenomenal Kristian Pilipovic and a couple of goals by Ante Ivanković in crunch time reestablished the five-goal advantage for the Macedonian side after 60 minutes (26:31).
• former EHF Champions League winners RK Celje Pivovarna Laško celebrated an impressive 41:32 win against ACS HC Buzau 2012 and will travel to Romania with a solid advantage for the second leg; a quartet of players stood out for the Slovenian side in offence — Mai Marguc, Uroš Milićević, Aljuš Anžic and Andraž Makuc — with Mai Marguc as the top storer with eight goals
• after securing a two- to four-goal lead throughout the first 25 minutes, a 4:0 run to make it 18:12 at half-time decided the match in favour of Celje; Buzau could narrow the gap to three for a short period during the second half, but never came closer again; in the last quarter of the match, Celje benefited from the Romanian side’s turnovers to create an even bigger gap to win by nine goals
• HC Izvidac secured a solid advantage against HCB Karvina (36:31); a 5:0 run from minutes 19 to 23 dictated the story of the match (17:10); Diano Ćeško proved to be the go-to guy for Izvidac once more, scoring six goals in the first half and 10 in total; goalkeeper Miloš Kneževic added 10 saves at 45.5 per cent in the first 30 minutes, ending on 13 stops in total
• during the second half, Izvidac extended their lead to 10 after 40 minutes (27:17), but Karvina did not leave without a fight; a 6:1 run in the following eight minutes cut the deficit to five; Illia Blyzniuk and Patrik Fulnek stood out for Karvina in the second half, each scoring four goals after the break
  

Nilüfer BSK with impressive draw in Hungary

MOL Tatabanya KC awaited Nilüfer BSK from Türkiye on Saturday afternoon. The guests from Türkiye enjoyed a dream start, already leading by four goals after 13 minutes, forcing the hosts to take an early timeout (4:8). This decision had a positive effect for Tatabanya, who closed the gap back to one goal only five minutes later, also thanks to a goal drought from Nilüfer that lasted more than seven minutes. However, in the final minutes of the first half, Türkiye’s lone participant left in the competition found their offensive rhythm again to take a three-goal lead after 30 minutes (15:12).

From minutes 31 to 45, the guests held on to their lead, even extending it temporarily to five goals. Yet, Tatabanya kept fighting and could rely on their goalkeeper Márton Székely, who collected six saves in the final quarter of the match. Demis Grigoraș tied the contest at 31:31, with 32 seconds left on the clock. Dean Sesic’s last attempt for Nilüfer only hit the post, and it is all to play for in Türkiye next Saturday.

Photos © RK Celje Pivovarna Laško (main), MOL Tatabanya KC (in-text)