FTC beat Krim again to finish year on a high

FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria are recovering from their rough start to the DELO EHF Champions League season.

The Hungarian side won their second away match in as many weeks, beating RK Krim Mercator 32:26 on Saturday for their third win from the last four matches.

This run also includes the home game against the Slovenian side in October, which FTC won with nearly the same result, 32:25.

GROUP A

RK Krim Mercator (SLO) vs FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) 26:32 (13:13)

• FTC jumped to a 6:1 lead after six minutes, but Krim hit back with a 9:3 run
• FTC’s two main attacking weapons, Katrin Klujber and Noemi Hafra, combined for just two goals from 11 shots in the first half
• the game followed the same scenario from the teams’ first meeting in October, when FTC won after a 14:14 score line at the break
• Krim collapsed in the second half, conceding 19 goals, while their attack plummeted from a 55 per cent efficiency to only 43 per cent
• FTC overtook Metz and Vipers into third place in the standings, but have played more matches, while Krim are on a four-game winless streak

Hafra piles on the pressure in the second half

Handball is a team sport and they say that only a team performance wins you games, but this was the exception to the rule. Left back Noemi Hafra scored just one goal from six attempts in the first half, as Krim held FTC to 13:13. But the 22-year old, who is set to join Györ next season, bounced back admirably in the second half, adding seven goals to her tally to help FTC jump to their fourth win in seven games this season.