Granollers and Valur take first leg initiative

The second weekend of action in the European League Men began with two very different victories on Friday evening.

While the double-header in Croatia hangs very much in the balance, the one in Granollers is all but over at the halfway mark.

EUROPEAN LEAGUE MEN - QUALIFICATION ROUND 1

RK Porec vs Valur Iceland 18:22 (8:15)

• Valur set the tone in the first half, roaring into a 5:0 lead early on
• two direct red cards for Porec's Lucijan Krajcar and Matija Radakovic in the fist half did not help their cause
• while ill-discipline remained an issue, the home side did fight back in the second half to give themselves a fighting chance in Saturday's second leg

HC Prolet 62 vs Fraikin BM. Granollers 21:36 (11:16)

• Prolet, in search of their first European win in 12 years, got off to a decent start and remained in touch with their hosts
• Granollers gave themselves a bit of a cushion with a late first-half flourish and picked up where they left off after the break, holding a 10-goal lead by the 41st minute
• Jose Maria Marquez had a stormer in the final quarter, scoring six of his nine goals today, as Granollers made their progression to round 2 all but certain