Day review 2: Dramatic battle for main round spots in late matches

From the Top 5 Matches

Group A: Sport Lisboa e Benfica (POR) vs HBC Nantes (FRA) 34:38 (16:18)

Facing his former club Benfica, Alexandre Cavalcanti shone for Nantes, doubling his tally from the first four games, as a seven-goal outing from the Portuguese left back helped the French side deliver their fourth win in five matches.

It was yet another high-paced game, providing huge entertainment for the fans, but once again the Portuguese side could not compete until the end, as their defence leaked too many goals. After this loss, 2022 EHF European League champions Benfica are out of contention, while Nantes move to the main round, with a do-or-die match against Rhein-Neckar Löwen in the last round for the first place in the standings.

Group F: BM Logroño La Rioja (ESP) vs Bjerringbro-Silkeborg (DEN) 28:29 (10:13)

An undermanned La Rioja – which had only 12 players on the score sheet – tried their utmost to keep their hopes alive of progressing to the main round, but eventually Bjerringbro-Silkeborg’s depth was the decisive factor. The Danish side stopped the Spanish team’s comeback to seal their fourth win of the season, 29:28. The experience of Rasmus Lauge, who scored eight times, was the tipping point for the Danish side, as they are now heading for the main round, needing a win against Vojvodina in the last match to seal the first place.

In case you missed it...

• Kadetten Schaffhausen earned their ticket to the main round with a huge upset against SG Flensburg-Handewitt, taking a narrow 25:24 win after preventing the German side to score in the last five minutes and finishing the match with a 3:0 unanswered run
• backed by seven goals from their top scorer this season, Tobias Grøndahl, who improved his overall tally to 36 goals in the group matches, Elverum did try to stay alive in Group E with their 27:26 win against Lovcen, but were eliminated due to Kadetten’s win

• for the first time in a European competition, Rhein-Neckar Löwen started with five wins in a row: on Tuesday, they dominated IFK Kristianstad with a seven-goal outing from back Jon Andersen, which lifted the German side to a 36:28 win
• in spite of missing out on a place in the main round, ABC Braga sealed their second win of the season, 31:26, against MKS Povaszka Bystrica, breaking a four-game losing streak. The Slovakian side remained one of the last four teams to fail to win a point so far after five matches
• 11 players scored at least one goal for Sporting CP, but none of them had more than three goals, as a well-rounded performance from the Portuguese powerhouse helped them clinch their main round berth with a 35:22 win over KGHM Chrobry Glogow, which are now eliminated from contention
• MOL Tatabánya could still get level with Sporting on six points next week, but the Portuguese side has the advantage from the direct duels
• teams qualified for the main round: Löwen and Nantes from group A; Hannover and Zabrze from B; Sävehof from C; Nexe and Skjern from D; Flensburg and Kadetten from E; Vojvodina and Bjerringbro-Silkeborg from F; Füchse from G; Constanta and Sporting from H

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