SUMMARY: Last 16 tickets for Ystad, Skjern and Kadetten; first loss for Montpellier
In the EHF European League round 8 we've seen eight more teams secure the EHF EL Last 16 tickets - Skjern, Ystads and Kadetten Schaffhausen. On the other hand, we've also seen Montpellier's first loss of the season as they fell eight goals short against Tatran in Slovakia.
A fully-deserved win for Tatran here today. We've prepared well for this one in my opinion but, for whatever reason, I felt like my players weren't even on the court in the first half today. Lack of focus, lack of commitment from our side. In the second half we again did not react the way we should have, and in the end the result is as it is.
Granollers is definitely not an easy team to play against as they hardly ever lose possession. Rangel da Rosa was looking really good in the first half, but our defense was functioning really well too, as well as Leo Maciel. Today we were better when it comes to finishing and defense. We have a quality and young, but also inexperienced team and our goal is to compete against the best and grow.
We are going to face a team that has the same amount points as we do which means that they are our direct opponents in the race for the best spots in the group. They are currently one of the top teams in the Spanish league - one of the best leagues in the world. We will have to be very serious and give our absolute best if we want to defeat them in the end. Goal is to make it another great European night at Pavilhão João Rocha.
I think it is going to be a difficult game for us. Defeating Sporting twice in the same season is far from easy. They have a very talented, young team. A great club overall honestly. We are dealing with a difficult schedule at the moment but the goal is to keep on performing well and keep on winning.
20:29
In group C, Granollers will play Sporting in Portugal in a match in which both teams will aim for a win that would help them stay close to group leaders Nexe Nasice. On the other hand, a win for Skjern against Alpla Hard would help the Danish team secure a Last 16 ticket.
Finally, in group D, Bidasoa will welcome in Irun German Füchse Berlin and Eurofarm will play Aguas Santas at home. Eventual win over Aguas would help the team from Bitola significantly improve its chances of reaching the knock-out stage of the competition after Motor failed to win at least a point in Aarhus earlier today.
20:26
What a day it has been so far, but the show must go on!
Starting from 20.45 CET, in group A Kadetten Schaffahausen will at home look for at least a point that would help the Swiss team secure a Last 16 ticket.
In group B, where everything is still open when it comes to who will advance through to the knock-out stage, Flensburg will welcome PAUC Handball and Benidorm will play Valur in Iceland.
20:22
Incredible performance and a big win for Tatran against favored Montpellier. Oliver Rabek scored 10 helping keep their hopes of securing the EHF EL Last 16 spot alive as Benfica failed to take at least a point in Germany losing in Göppingen.
Skanderborg secured a win over Motor on wings of Morten Jensen and Morten Balling Christensen, while Anton Mansson scored almost a last-second equalizer versus FTC which helped the Swedish team book an EHF EL Last 16 spot. Unstoppable Bence Nagy almost killed their hopes of securing the knock-out stage ticket just yet by exploding for 15 goals in one of the best individual performances of the season in the EHF European League so far.
20:15 FULL TIME
YSTADS IF HF-FTC 35:35
FRESH ON GÖPPINGEN - SL BENFICA 31:29
SKANDERBORG-AARHUS - HC MOTOR 33:30
TATRAN PRESOV - MONTPELLIER HB 35:27
20:08
The match seems to be slipping away from Ystad's hands as FTC enters the final five minutes with a two-goal advantage. Incredible Bence Nagy is leading them with 11 goals in this one so far.
In Germany, Göppingen has managed to widen the gap to three goals (27:24).
20:05
It is 28:23 in favor of Skanderborg going into the final seven minutes of the match. Hosts have managed to widen the gap and they seem to be sailing towards a new win. One of the main reasons for that is surely - Kristoffer Lund Laursen.
Nice try, but not this time. 😎 Kristoffer Lund Laursen with an amazing save! 🔥 #ehfel pic.twitter.com/TN9OpUNFVe
— EHF European League (@ehfel_official) February 14, 2023
19:56
Second goal of the day for Jaka Malus helps Göppingen take the 22:21 lead forcing Chema Rodriguez to call a time-out. Meanwhile, Tatran is aiming to widen the gap to double digits as Oliver Rabek leads their offense with nine goals so far. Marcos Colodetti has eight saves. Everything seems to be leading towards what would be a historic win for Tatran Presov against two-time EHF Champions League winners, and one of the favorites to go all the way in the EHF European League this season.
19:50
A little over 15 minutes before the final buzzer, the result is levelled in Germany at 20:20. Skanderborg has 22:20 versus Motor and Tatran is leading Montpellier 26:18.
The deal is far from sealed in Sweden with Ystad leading 26:25 against FTC.
19:44
Marcel Schiller scores his seventh of the night as Göppingen cuts Benfica's lead to two (17:19). FTC overtakes the lead in Sweden (20:22), Tatran keeps on pushing against Montpellier (22:14). Six minutes gone in the second.
19:37
The second half is under way! Benfica will have the first possession in Germany.
19:27
The biggest surprise of the day so far is Tatran's huge nine-goal lead versus Montpellier at the break. Oliver Rabek is leading Slovak team in this one with five goals so far in a match in which they need a victory in order to keep their hopes of reaching the knock-out stage alive. However, in case Benfica in the end wins in Germany, even a win against Montpellier might prove not to be enough for Tatran to advance through to the knock-out stage.
19:25
After surprising early leads for FTC and Motor, both Ystad and Skanderborg have managed to get back into their games. Win against FTC grants the Swedish team a spot in the EHF European League Last 16 phase and they will surely push for it in the second half.
An eventual win for Benfica would help the Portuguese team book a Last 16 ticket as well. Petar Djordjic is leading them in this one with five goals so far while Marcel Schiller netted six for hosts.
19:20 HALF TIME
YSTADS IF HF-FTC 19:18
FRISCH AUF GÖPPINGEN - SL BENFICA 15:18
SKANDERBORG-AARHUS - HC MOTOR 15:15
TATRAN PRESOV - MONTPELLIER HB 19:10
19:13
The defense went one way, and the ball went the other. Beautifully done by Kasper Palmar and Anton Mansson.
Brilliant ✨ no-look pass to the line player from Kasper Palmar. Anton Mansson scores here for @yifhandboll . #ehfel pic.twitter.com/RnRNrR8VTK
— EHF European League (@ehfel_official) February 14, 2023
19:11
In Sweden, Ystad has managed to overtake the control of the game leading to 11:9. Skanderborg has narrowed the gap to only -1 (11:12) and Tatran is dominating Montpellier (11:5). Oliver Rabek is once again having a day scoring five goals already.
19:10
Ten minutes before the half-time whistle, Benfica is leading 11:14 in Germany. Grigoras and Djordjic are leading the Portuguese team with three goals each.
19:05
Cosmin Grigoras starts the day off in the best possible way for Benfica. Unstoppable!
What a 🚀from Cosmin Grigoras. He puts this one in and scores the first goal for @modalidadesslb . #ehfel pic.twitter.com/6WNibmPPbE
— EHF European League (@ehfel_official) February 14, 2023
19:01
The underdogs are having a day so far with Tatran Presov leading 7:4 versus Montpellier and Motor being 6:9 ahead against Skanderborg. It is still quite early, but it appears we're poised for some great matches this evening.
18:58
Incredible quick-paced, eye-pleasing handball early on in Germany. It's been only ten minutes and we've seen 17 goals already with Benfica leading 8:9. Demis Cosmin Grigoras and Marcel Schiller have netted three each for their respective teams so far.
18:53
Looking across the courts, we have Motor leading 3:5 in Aarhus, FTC Leading 3:4 in Sweden and Tatran taking an early 3:2 lead over Montpellier at home.
18:49
Göppingen's counter-attack appears to be way too fast for Benfica to deal with early on with the hosts successfully punishing every mistake guests from Portugal are making. Five minutes into the encounter - the result is 4:3 in favor of the German team.
18:44
With only a minute to go until the start of two group A clashes that have the potential to determine the fate of Tatran Presov and SL Benfica, let's have a quick look at the group A standings going into the EHF European League round 8.
18:42
And here is what Benfica's coach - Spaniard Chema Rodriguez, had to say going into their second group-stage duel against German Göppingen.
A very difficult game is ahead of us. The opponent has already managed to beat us at home and now we'll be looking for a victory in Germany although we know how hard it is going to be. The goal is, obviously, to climb as high as possible in the standings, perhaps even reaching the second place going into the knock-out stage.
18:38
With the first game of the day behind us, there is not much time to waste!
Starting from 18.45 CET, in group A Tatran will look for a home surprise against Montpellier which is the only way they can keep their hopes of reaching the EHF European League Last 16 alive. In case they fail to do it, Benfica will regardless of the outcome of their game against Göppingen become the ninth team to book a spot in the EHF EL Last 16.
In group B, Ystad will aim to secure a Last 16 spot with a win over Hungarian FTC at home and in group D, Motor will be looking to keep their hopes of reaching the knock-out stage alive with an eventual positive result against Skanderborg in Denmark.
18:35 FULL TIME
BALATONFUREDI KSE-RK NEXE 28:31
A three-goal win for Nexe in the end which helps Croatian vice-champions stay on top of group C going into the final two group-stage rounds, but also on the other side - a result which knocks Balatonfüredi out of the EHF EL Last 16 contention. Gianfranco Pribetic led the way offensively for Nexe scoring seven goals while Stevan Sretenovic finished the match with eight for the Hungarians. Arian Ando grabbed 14 saves.
Final look at the statistics.
18:29
Dejan Malinovic finds the way through from the distance.
100%🎯Fantastic goal by Dejan Malinovic! #ehfel pic.twitter.com/Wud0JjtdaY
— EHF European League (@ehfel_official) February 14, 2023
18:20
Seventh goal of the day from just as much attempts for Peter Hornyak as the hosts narrow the gap to only two goals going into the final six minutes in this one.
18:12
With about 12 minutes left to play, at the result 22:26 in favor of the guest team, home-team coach Laszlo György calls a time-out with an intention of helping his team make a final push that would help them keep their hopes of reaching the knock-out stage alive.
18:00
A strong start to the second half helps Nexe open the gap to five goals (17:22) less than ten minutes into the encounter. This one seems to be slowly sailing away from Balatonfüredi and it will be interesting to see whether Hungarians can turn the corner in the final third of this encounter.
17:49
Arian Ando did a really great job not allowing Nexe to widen the gap additionally accounting for eight saves in the first half including this one.
Arian Ando is on fire🔥 Watch this stunning save! 👇#ehfel pic.twitter.com/DRPEVMCoui
— EHF European League (@ehfel_official) February 14, 2023
17:42
In a battle of two run & gun offenses, Nexe is doing better so far. A win in Hungary keeps them at least two points clear of both Granollers and Sporting on top of the group C going into the final two group stage rounds.
On the other hand, eventual loss for Balatonfüredi would open up a chance for Skjern to book an EHF EL Last 16 ticket as early as today in case they manage to defeat Alpla Hard at home starting from 20.45 CET.
17:35 HALF TIME
BALATONFÜREDI KSE-RK NEXE 14:16
After a dominant win for Nexe in their premier encounter of the season against the Hungarian team, Balatonfüredi has clearly managed to find a solution to slow Croatian vice-champions down. Stevan Sretenovic is leading the hosts offensively with five goals while goalkeeper Arian Ando has eight saves. Gianfranco Pribetic, on the other side finished the first half with five for Nexe.
And here are the half-time stats.
17:28
Luka Moslavac goes right through the middle with this one and goalkeeper Arian Ando, who is having a solid match so far, simply can't do anything about it.
Boom💥 Great underarm shot from Luka Moslavac! #ehfel @rk_nexe pic.twitter.com/3Jm0uDRCfj
— EHF European League (@ehfel_official) February 14, 2023
17:23
With ten minutes left on the clock in the first, the result is 9:12 in favor of the guest team which is focusing on playing aggressively in defense and then running the court well scoring easy goals. It is working so far.
17:17
A win in this one keeps Balatonfüredi's hopes of reaching the EHF European League Last 16 phase alive as Hungarians are currently fifth with three points - three less than fourth-placed Skjern.
Half-way through the first, the situation is not looking ideal for the hosts as Nexe widen the gap to three goals (7:10) on wings of Gianfranco Pribetic' incredible attacking performance. The line player already has five goals next to his name and is showing no intentions of slowing down.
17:09
About ten minutes into the encounter, the feeling is that hosts have managed to find a way to slow Nexe's backs down. They are however paying the price on the line position with Gianfranco Pribetic scoring three already as the guest team leads 4:5.
17:02
Fahrudin Melic scores the first goal of the day as Croatian vice-champions take a 1:0 lead, two minutes into the game.
16:59
Despite defeating the Hungarians by a big margin in their premier encounter of the season, Nexe's coach Branko Tamse remained cautious before the trip to Hungary.
Although we played well in Nasice, we shouldn't look back on the first game. Balatonfüredi has a really good, compact team and they have managed to prove it in the last round against Granollers. They are playing modern, quick-paced handball and have several national team players which is why we surely have a tough game ahead of us. We are, however used to that pressure and we'll do our best to deliver a solid pouting and come back home with two new points.
