Sabbianco Anorthosis Famagusta and HC Izvidac met for their first leg match in Cyprus on Sunday and could not find a winner. The visitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina had the much better start, leading 3:0 after six minutes and 8:3 after 15 minutes. Famagusta found their offensive game in the last 15 minutes of the first half. Especially Eleftherios Seirikidis was once again vital for his side. The Cyprus side’s top-scorer of the competition with 36 goals after round 3, delivered 12 goals today. Two goals in a row by Seirikidis levelled the match after 45 minutes. It had to be him to score the last goal of the game. The 25:25 draw ensures a fascinating return leg next Saturday.
- AEK Athens HC have comfortably reached the quarter-finals, beating MRK Krka by 69:53 on aggregate; Adama Sako was the Greek’s side top-scorer over two matches with 11 goals
- RK Partizan AdmiralBet have also secured their spot in the quarter-finals; meeting with Diomidis Argous in Belgrade for their double-header, the Serbian side wanted to take advantage of playing in front of their home crowd; on Saturday, the Greek visitors spoiled the party, winning 28:26; thanks to a 10 goals and four assists performance by Nikola Crnoglavac and 13 saves (45 per cent) by Saeid Heidarirad, RK Partizan comfortably won the return leg 32:22 to advance to the next round, winning 58:50 on aggregate
- HC Alkaloid continue their impressive offensive showings this season with a 44:32 away win in the first leg against SSV Brixen Handball; it was the second time in five matches in this competition that the Macedonian side eclipsed the 40-goal mark; Alkaloid’s goalkeepers Marko Kizikj and Ivan Galevski combined for 17 saves, while Brixen’s duo only had three saves
- Haukar have secured a comfortable lead after the first leg, beating RK Jeruzalem Ormoz 31:23 at home; Össur Haraldsson scored nine goals; goalkeepers on both sides impressed: Aron Rafn Edvardsson had 12 saves (34 per cent) for the hosts, Filip Ranfl saved 14 shots (31 per cent) for the Slovenian side
Thriller in Norway sets up incredible return leg
Runar Sandefjord made headlines in the previous round by beating former EHF Champions League winners RK Celje Pivovarna Laško. Their last 16 opponents, Besiktas, have also gained experience in Europe’s flagship competition. Both teams met for the first leg in Norway on Sunday and impressed with their offensive output. It was an even start to the game in the first 10 minutes. Shortly after, the hosts gained a five-goal lead after 15 minutes, which was turned into a 19:18 at the break for Besiktas.
During the second half, Besiktas’ highest lead was two goals; they couldn’t seal the deal. In an exciting last minute, the hosts closed the gap. After Besiktas hit the post with one goal up and 10 seconds to go, Ogulcan Güney committed a foul, which resulted in his third suspension of the match and a penalty shot for Runar. Adam Tenvik Bergli scored to set up a return leg in Türkiye that starts with an even score of 35:35.
