Plock back on track after strong second half

After their home defeat against Füchse Berlin, Orlen Wisla Plock were out for revenge at Toulouse, while Fenix were full of confidence after taking their first points at Irun last week. But after round 4, Fenix remain on two points, while Plock remain the only hunter of Füchse Berlin with now six points on their account. Steered by Nemanja Iliic, Fenix were strong until the break, but then a Russian duo and Plock took control and beat Fenix for the second time after the 33:29 at home. 

Group A: 

Fenix Toulouse Handball (FRA) vs. Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) 24:30 (13:13) 

• The 2:1 was the Toulouse’s last lead in the first half, while the biggest deficit were three goals at 8:11 and 10:13. 
• By scoring the last three goals before the break - including Nemanja Ilic’s seventh strike for the equalizer - Fenix levelled the result at halftime. 
• Another key for the comeback of the hosts was Belgian goalkeeper Jef Lettens, who saved eight shots in the first half - but even his 13 saves in total were not enough. 
• Funny enough, Michal Daszek was the only Polish-born scorer for Plock in the first half - by striking once, but he added two goals after the break. 
• The crucial period was between minutes 34 and 48, when Plock turned a 16:17 deficit into a 25:19 lead with a 8:3 run and then kept this distance. 

A Russian duo stands out for Plock 

Sergei Mark Kosorotov, who arrived from Chekhovskie Medvedi, and Dmitrii Zhitnikov, who played for MOL Pick Szeged before, were two of Plock’s top transfers this summer. While Kosorotov had underlined why he is the rising star of Russian handball by 22 European League goals so far, Zhitnikov had only scored seven times, funny enough five in the first leg against Toulouse. But at Toulouse, both were on fire, both netting in six goals from nine attempts to be Wisla’s match winners.