Kielce climb to top of the group
Lomza Industria Kielce are the new number one of group B – at least for 24 hours ahead of Barça’s match against Aalborg on Thursday. Thanks to their seventh consecutive victory, this time a 31:28 win against OTP Bank – Pick Szeged, the Polish side are now on 16 points, one point ahead of the defending champions.
Eight goals from Arkadiusz Moryto, who was awarded Player of the Match, and 14 saves by goalkeeper Andreas Wolff were the keys to victory in a quite one-sided MOTW, in which Szeged did not lead for a single second.
GROUP B
MOTW: OTP Bank - Pick Szeged (HUN) vs Lomza Industria Kielce (POL) 28:31 (13:16)
- Kielce profited from their 6:3 and 13:8 flying start and a strong combination of goalkeeper Andreas Wolff and left wing Arkadiusz Moryto
- boosted by three wins in their last four matches, Szeged struck back through the goals of former Kielce player Dean Bombac, and levelled the result at 13:13. Bombac ended up as Pick’s top scorer with six strikes
- Kielce were not flustered by Szeged’s comeback, nor by the injury of their playmaker Haukur Thrastarson – and scored the last three goals of the first half
- after the break, Szeged were close to turning the match around, mainly as goalkeeper Mirko Alilovic improved, but in this crucial period caused too many technical mistakes and turnovers to level the result
- Kielce kept a constant three to four-goal lead, and when Moryto netted his eighth goal for the 28:23 lead, his side had finally entered the winners’ way
A setback for Szeged
Pick Szeged had just been climbing up the ladder after their weak start with four straight defeats. Three wins in the last four matches were a clear indicator they were on the rise – but on Wednesday Juan Carlos Pastor’s side was chanceless against a strong Kielce team.
Again, a weak start was one reason for the defeat; the second was the period in the second half when they failed to use their chances to turn the match around. Only the centre backs Dean Bombac and Miguel Martins (five goals) were on fire in attack, as line player Bence Bánhidi was perfectly defended by Kielce.
