Heroic defence lifts FTC past Rostov in MOTW

Two streaks that prevented Rostov-Don from scoring for 14 minutes and nine minutes, respectively, helped FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria earn their second consecutive win in group A of the DELO EHF Champions League, 20:19.

Rostov suffered their first loss of the season — and questions marks still loom over their attacking credentials.

GROUP A
MOTW: Rostov-Don (RUS) vs FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) 19:20 (8:11)

• with a 14-minute goalless spell between the 10th and the 24th minute, Rostov only mustered eight goals in the first half, which was their lowest number in 85 games played in the DELO EHF Champions League
• the Russian side's nine-minute goalless streak between the 26th and 35th minutes saw FTC score six straight goals to open a 14:8 lead
• as the two attacks clearly had issues, Rostov goalkeeper Anastasiia Lagina (eight saves) and FTC counterpart Blanka Bíró (seven saves) stole the show in the first half
• Bíró was named as Player of the Match after making 13 saves, including a one-on-one stop that denied Anna Sen with 13 seconds remaining, for a 42 per cent efficiency 
• FTC, who now have five points, remain undefeated and have leapfrogged Rostov in the group standings

Rostov pay for their attacking woes

Rostov had a 46 per cent attacking efficiency, slightly better than FTC’s 44 per cent, but the Russian side’s costly misses, including seven one-on-one shots against Blanka Bíró, were decisive in handing the Hungarian side their second win in three games in the competition.

The Russian side scored their second-lowest amount of goals in 85 EHF Champions League matches, as well as the lowest total for both teams in a game, three fewer than the 42 goals scored when they met HCM Baia Mare in 2015 and Odense in 2016.