European Cup Men returns with a roller-coaster weekend

·      Konjuh Zivinice and ACS HC Buzau 2012 proved once again that handball is a game of runs. After an even starting period, the hosts created a five-goal gap after 13 minutes (9:4) due to a 6:0 run from minutes eight to thirteen. The visitors came back with a 4:0 run to close the gap and were able to top that shortly after half-time (16:12) to get back level with a 5:0 run. During the second half, the match was neck-and-neck with a slight advantage for Buzau. However, the hosts bit back to take the lead inside the last ten minutes, with the help of another 4:0 run and three goals from their top scorer Rijad Sinanovic (eight goals in total). Zivinice celebrate a 28:26 win, but it is all to play for in Romania next week.

·      HCB Karvina also enjoy a two-goal advantage after the first leg, beating Balatonfüredi KSE 30:28 at home; Karvina goalkeeper Petr Mokroš had a stunning performance, collecting 17 saves (39.53 per cent), while teammate Michal Zarsky added two saves from four shots to win the battle between the posts 19:10 against the Hungarian duo

·      in a duel between two former EHF Champions League sides, RK Celje Pivovarna Laško beat Besiktas JK 39:34 at home; Uroš Milićević, Aljuš Anžic, and Mai Marguc combined for 23 goals for the Slovenian side; Besiktas were hampered by 14 technical faults, double the amount of Celje; Matej Ašanin collected 15 saves (35.71 per cent) to keep the Turkish side’s hopes alive

·      the second team from Türkiye could also not win their first leg, as SKKP Handball Brno beat Nilüfer BSK 29:26 in Czechia; Nilüfer were more efficient, but made too many mistakes, as they lost the turnover battle 11:6; Brno centre back Alexandr Moješcik took matters into his own hands, taking 17 shots and scoring eight goals, crowning him top-scorer of the match

·      GRK Ohrid from North Macedonia celebrate another decisive win, beating HC Dukla Praha 30:21 at home; Darko Đukić and Ante Ivanković combined for 15 goals, with Kristian Pilipovic in goal adding 12 saves (37.5 per cent); the Czech visitors were only able to score on 31 per cent of their attacks and 51 per cent of their shots

·      Olympiacos SFP also enjoy a nine-goal advantage after beating BK-46 from Finland 39:30 at home; Savvas Savvas scored 12 goals for the Greek hosts, while new addition Julius Kühn, EHF EURO 2016 champion with Germany, added six goals in his EHF European Cup debut; Sebastian Säkkinen scored double-digit goals (ten) for the visitors, who could have needed a stronger goalkeeping performance (17 per cent)

·      HC Izvidac and RK Trimo Trebnje squared off in the sole match on Sunday; the home side from Bosnia and Herzegovina dictated the match throughout the 60 minutes, without pulling away massively; Izvidac’s biggest lead was four goals (18:14) after 33 minutes; Trebnje were able to close the gap back to one goal three times during the second half, but travel back home to Slovenia with a 28:31 defeat; Diano Ćeško scored seven goals and added five assists for the home side

Tatabanya turn the tables in impressive second half

MOL Tatabanya KC and Runar Sandefjord opened the last 16 on Saturday afternoon and delivered a thrilling first leg in a tale of two halves. In the first 30 minutes, the visitors from Norway, boosted by seven goals from right back Christoffer Rambo, got off to a promising start, leading by six goals shortly before half-time and closing the half with a 19:15 lead. 

Home side Tatabanya came out of the locker room with a fabulous response. A 5:0 run from minute 36 to 40 turned the match in their favour. Daniel Mosindi played a big role in his team’s performance, scoring four of his six goals within the first 15 minutes of the second half. The Hungarian hosts were even able to pull away in the closing stages thanks to a 4:0 run, which was countered by two consecutive goals from Runar’s Even Haugli for a final score of 35:33 for MOL Tatabanya KC.