Kadetten progress, Presov keep hopes alive
Following Montpellier and Göppingen’s lead, Schaffhausen are the next team from group A to secure their presence in the Last 16 of the EHF European League Men. The Swiss team could have done without winning tonight but booked their ticket in style thanks to a large win against Veszprém.
Benfica, on the other hand, will have to wait a little bit longer, as the Portuguese side lost in Göppingen and could still be matched by Presov in the two remaining rounds. The Slovakian side kept their hopes alive by inflicting Montpellier their first loss of the season and are now just two points behind the Lisbon team with two games left to play.
GROUP A
TATRAN Presov (SVK) vs Montpellier HB (FRA) 35:27 (19:10)
Montpellier lost their first European game this season in Presov, where their hosts showed them no mercy. Taking an early four-goal lead, the Slovakian side made the most of their opponents’ turnovers to break away on the scoreboard. At half-time, the hosts were already up by nine. Helped by Oliver Rabek’s ten goals, they even increased their advantage, making it ten before the final buzzer.
Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER) vs SL Benfica (POR) 31:29 (15:18)
This contest followed the old trope of a game of two halves with Göppingen proving it perfectly. While they saw their opponents take a four-goal lead in the first half, the hosts turned things completely around after the break. With wingers Marcel Schiller and Kevin Gulliksen scoring eight and six respectively, the German side made the score even twenty minutes before the end of the game. Göppingen then took the lead, never to let it go again, despite Petar Djordjic netting seven goals for Benfica.
Kadetten Schaffhausen (SWI) vs Fejer B.A.L. Veszprém (HUN) 38:32 (22:17)
Schaffhausen booked their Last 16 ticket tonight, thanks to a commanding win against Veszprém. The hosts broke away on the scoreboard in the second quarter, thanks to Nik Tominec, who netted five within ten minutes to give Kadetten their largest advantage of seven goals. Despite the break, the hosts never let their foot off the pedal, as Odinn Thor Rikhardsson netted ten, seven in the second half alone.
Surprisingly goal shy
Ten goals are what Montpellier were limited to in Presov in the first half of the game. Compare it to the 41 that the French side netted across 60 minutes in the first confrontation between the two sides, and you can imagine what a bad day Montpellier had offensively. Presov only had to make the most of these turnovers, pushing every ball to score 19 in the first half and secure their win already by half-time.
