European Cup semi-finals on the line in second legs

The action starts on Saturday with two matches at 17:00 CEST. Nilüfer BSK and MOL Tatabanya KC meet in Türkiye, while ACS HC Buzau 2012 and RK Celje Pivovarna Laško clash in Romania. GRK Ohrid and Olympiacos SFP face off in Greece at 18:00 CEST. On Sunday, HCB Karvina and HC Izvidac battle it out for the last semi-final spot at 17:00 CEST in Czechia. 

• eight teams from eight countries are contesting the quarter-finals
• Tatabanya secured a last-minute draw at home last weekend, 31:31, but Nilüfer have the home advantage this Saturday
• Celje travel to Romania with a comfortable nine-goal lead, after winning the first leg 41:32 at home
  GRK Ohrid enjoy a five-goal lead (31:26) and the home court advantage for the second leg against Olympiacos SFP
• the Greek side relied heavily on left back Savvas Savvas, who was responsible for 22 of his team’s 48 shots on goal last weekend, scoring 14; Kristian Pilipovic outperformed his season’s save average (14.5) with 16 stops and was once more a key for Ohrid to take a comfortable win
• HC Izvidac are one step closer to reaching the semi-finals for the second year in a row, having beaten HCB Karvina 36:31 last weekend
• Izvidac’s back-court trio of Diano Ćeško, Filip Odak and Amer Sahinovic combined for 21 goals and 11 assists
• Karvina need to improve their shot volume, having six fewer attempts than Izvidac in the first leg
• the fixtures for the semi-finals have already been drawn: The winners of Celje versus Buzau will meet the winners of Olympiacos versus Ohrid; the victors of Izvidac against Karvina will play the winners of Tatabanya against Nilüfer

Exciting clash in Türkiye: Nilüfer BSK vs MOL Tatabanya KC

The second leg between Nilüfer BSK and MOL Tatabanya KC on Saturday will be must-see TV. After the Turkish side led from the second minute until crunch time, Tatabanya escaped the first leg with a draw at home. The sides were evenly matched across various statistics, which promises another dramatic match on the weekend. 

Will Nilüfer’s home advantage be the key or can Tatabanya use their experience from playing in the EHF European League last season to advance?

Main photo © ARGYRO ANASTASIOY; feature photo © MOL Tatabanya KC