Schaffhausen take last play-offs spot despite a defeat
The EHF European League Men 2023/24 main round has come to an end. After Skjern Handbold and SG Flensburg-Handewitt secured their quarter-finals spots, four teams were looking to close their respective groups on a high while Vojvodina and Kadetten Schaffhausen fought for the last available play-offs ticket.
The Swiss team were the happy one in Novi Sad despite a three-goal defeat, eliminating Vojvodina from the competition. CSM Constanta said their farewell with defeat after a well-fought game against Füchse Berlin and HBC Nantes proved their strength by celebrating an eighth win in a row for a perfect closure of the main round.
We were aware of our defensive mistakes during the first half and we managed to improve that aspect of the game in the second. After the break, we looked much better on both sides of the ball being able to keep the tempo high until the very end of the game. Victory and a good performance in front of over 6,000 fans, plus no injuries. Everything a coach needs to be happy with the game.
Of course we're sorry about the way it all ended, but we've got to be proud of ourselves for making it a narrow game all the way until the final few seconds. We could have moved on, and I have to add I'm really proud of the wins against Silkeborg and Kadetten. We are progressing as a club, and I hope we'll use this defeat to spark our motivation for future games.
I'm happy we managed to advance from here as it's really hard to play Vojvodina on the road. I'd like to use the opportunity to congratulate Vojvodina on everything they're doing.
I think the game was very important because we're playing SC Magdeburg on Sunday, which will probably be one of the decisive games in the Bundesliga title fight. Our aim was to get ourselves back on track and not travel to Magdeburg with a negative result. Nevertheless, we really struggled in the first half and made a lot of technical mistakes. However, we played at a very good tempo throughout the game, which is why Constanta's strength waned at the end and we then took the lead we had built up midway through the second half.
It was a very tough game for us to play against Berlin, which is a very good team. But I am happy for my team that they played well in this very special atmosphere. It was very good for my players to play in front of this amazing Berlin crowd. It was a great final for our European season.
