Podravka, Gloria clinch victories; Györ and Esbjerg also win

Meanwhile in a hard-fought battle, HC Podravka Vegeta secured their second away win of the season, 25:23 against Storhamar Handball Elite, blowing the race for the play-off berths wide open.

Reigning champions Györi Audi ETO KC and the third-placed side from last season’s EHF FINAL4, Team Esbjerg, secured big wins in the last two matches on Saturday, against the sides which are currently ranked seventh and eighth in group B, Rapid Bucuresti and Buducnost.

• Gloria ended a five-match losing streak to secure their second win in history in the EHF Champions League Women and their largest so far in the competition
• Gloria’s goalkeeper, Renata de Arruda, the top goalkeeper in the EHF European League Women last season, had a fantastic outing, with 18 saves for a  39 per cent scoring efficiency as well as scoring two goals
• Podravka are in their first three-match unbeaten streak in the European premium competition since the 2012/13 season, when they won three matches in a row
• Györ dealt Rapid their fifth loss in a row and the Romanian side are now winless in six matches, their longest-ever drought in the EHF Champions League Women
• Buducnost back Jelena Radivojevic scored the 8,500th goal for the Montenegrin side in the history of the competition. They are the third side to hit the milestone previously achieved by Györ and Krim Mercator Ljubljana
• the top attack in the competition before this round, Esbjerg, could only muster 11 goals in the second half of the 27:23 win against Buducnost

GROUP A

CS Gloria 2018 BN (ROU) vs Nykøbing Falster Håndbold (DEN) 37:29 (16:14)

Gloria head coach Florentin Pera left centre back Cristina Laslo and goalkeeper Ivana Kapitanovic, arguably two of their most experienced players, off the roster for this match and the foreseeable future. Yet that did not stop the hosts from producing a solid showing against their Danish visitors. Gloria took a five-goal lead in the first half, reduced to only two goals at the break, 16:14 — despite goalkeeper Renata de Arruda saving 11 of the 25 shots she faced in the first half, for an outstanding 44 per cent saving efficiency. There was nothing NFH could do to avoid another loss, their sixth in seven matches. Their chances of progression are now slim, while Gloria took their largest-ever win in the European premium competition.

Storhamar Handball Elite (NOR) vs HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO) 23:25 (15:15)

After conceding four losses in their first four matches, Podravka look to have found new energy. After a win against Gloria and a draw against NFH, the Croatian champions delivered their second away win this season, in a hard-fought match against Storhamar. Centre back Matea Pletikosic and line player Klara Birtic each scored six goals for Podravka, in a match which had 30 goals in the first half, but only 18 in the second, with the Croatian side pulling out all the necessary stops in defence and limiting Storhamar to a 51 per cent attacking efficiency. The two sides are now tied with five points each, ahead of Gloria on four, as the battle for the last play-off places heats up midway through the group phase.

GROUP B

Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) vs Rapid Bucuresti (ROU) 31:20 (16:11)

After a draw against Buducnost and a seven-goal loss against Odense in the previous three rounds, Györ dominated the match against Rapid from start to finish. This dealt another blow to the Romanian side, who are currently seventh in the group, and have their longest winless streak ever in the EHF Champions League Women — six matches in a row. Rapid have also now conceded at least 30 goals in the last six matches and have the weakest defence in the competition, with 230 conceded goals in total now. On the other hand, Györ were once again not entirely convincing, but they took another step towards securing a quarter-finals berth, as the battle at the top of the group heats up.

Buducnost (MNE) vs Team Esbjerg (DEN) 23:27 (9:16)

The top attacking side in the competition, Team Esbjerg, had no issues in disposing of Buducnost, but this was not a fiery performance from the Danish champions with only 13 players at their disposal, including their two goalkeepers. But when Esbjerg jumped to a 10:2 start, there was no way back for Buducnost. Left back Henny Reistad carried the load with yet another superb performance, scoring nine goals and dishing eight assists. Reistad now has a total of 71 goals this season, an average of over 10 goals per match. Meanwhile Buducnost are still last in the standings, without a win, and with only one point, as a play-off berth looks further and further away.

Photos © Fredrik Olastuen, WolfartBN, Aniko Kovács, Dejan Starcevic/WHC Buducnost