Aguinagalde puts Irun back on track

Prior to their group A match on Tuesday night in Spain, both Bidasoa Irun and Pfadi Winterthur had lost their group phase openers. After former EHF Champions League winners Bidasoa Irun claimed their first European victory this season, 32:28, Pfadi Winterthur still remain without a point.

Jon Azkue Saizar scored six times to finish as Irun’s top scorer, but renowned line player Julen Aguinagalde scored the important goals for the Spanish side.

GROUP A
Bidasoa Irun (ESP) vs Pfadi Winterthur (SUI) 32:28 (16:10)

• as Pfadi Winterthur never led in the match, the final result does not reflect the one-sided match
• after leading 30:23 in the 57th minute, Irun allowed Pfadi to reduce the gap to four goals, which was the closest margin in the second half
• the biggest gap in the first match between these teams was eight goals at 21:13 – underlining the strong defence that Irun showed in the first 50 minutes
• with seven goals, Algerian left back Moustafa Hadj Sadok was Pfadi’s best scorer, while Jon Azkue Saizar netted six times for the victorious hosts
• Winterthur's goalkeepers Dennis Wipf and Yahav Shamir made seven saves each, which prevented their side from suffering an even bigger defeat

Irun prove their home strength

Since their return to European Cup competitions in the 2019/20 season, Bidasoa Irun have not lost at home in the EHF Champions League or the EHF European League.

In the EHF Champions League 2019/20 group phase, they won three matches and drew twice. In the EHF European League 2020/21 season, they won qualification round matches at home against PAUC and Nexe, and in the 2021/22 season they have started with a home victory against Pfadi Winterthur.