FTC celebrate their first win of the DELO EHF Champions League season and move their tally up to three points as they earn a clear result against Podravka. For the Croatian team, it is the first defeat in 2021/22 and they stay on two points on the group A table.
Rostov secure the two points but allow CSM to decrease the distance significantly after a lead as clear as nine goals with just eight minutes to the buzzer. Nevertheless, it's a second victory for the Russian side in the DELO EHF Champions League 2021/22, following their two-goal win against the 2020/21 runners-up Brest Bretagne.
For CSM it is a second straight loss, after a devastating one-goal defeat to Esbjerg in round 1. See all the group A standings here.
Metz clinch their first points of the season, after a postponement to their round 1 game, as they overthrow Odense in the Match of the Week. For Odense it is the first loss, as they enjoyed a commanding win over Kastamonu in the opening round.
While it was a top performance all round, the French side were led by some standouts in the form of Ivana Kapitanovic (10 saves), Meline Nocandy (seven goals), Bruna De Paula (six) and Astride N'gouan (five). For her key role, Nocandy earns the Player of the Match award.
17:17
Over in Erd, we are seeing that our journalist Adrian Costeiu seems to be dead on with his caution at half-time: "Bear in mind that Podravka had an outstanding first half in the first round, outscoring Buducnost 22:12 at half-time, only to put six goals past the Montenegrin side in the second part of the game."
It seems Podravka could not maintain their form after their confident opening half, as FTC are comfortably in front, 29:23, with just under 10 minutes to play. Following their disappointing draw in round 1, where FTC had the chance to take the win in the dying seconds, the Hungarian side will be thrilled to collect their first two points of the season — if they can keep their advantage to the final whistle.
17:10
In the MOTW, Metz are holding steady in front but Odense are hot on their heels. The French side have the advantage at 22:19 in the 48th minute.
Looking to the match stats, the key differences are attacking and shooting percentages — Metz are attacking at 63 per cent to Odense's 48 per cent, while the French side have shot at 71 per cent to the Danish team's 53 per cent.
17:04
The situation in Bucharest has really unravelled for the home side, with Rostov now leading CSM 23:11 with 16 minutes on the clock.
A huge contributor to that score line has been Rostov keeper Anastasiia Lagina, who holds an overall save rate of 55 per cent and has only become even more difficult for CSM to beat in the second period, with an unbelievable rate of 67 per cent since the break.
Is this match more indicative of Rostov's power this season or CSM's difficulties? CSM would need a miracle to turn this result around now, and are looking at their second straight defeat to open the season, while Rostov are set to move up to two wins from two games in 2021/22.
16:46
We're minutes from the starting whistle for the second half in Odense, Erd and Bucharest, with all three home sides looking to put on a stronger performance in the second half. While Odense and CSM are chasing their opponents Metz and Rostov, FTC are level with Podravka after trailing in the first period and will hope to continue with the momentum.
Our journalist Sergey Nikolaev shares his thoughts on the opening half of MOTW:
As expected, it has been a very tight match so far. While Odense had a slight advantage for most of the first half, Metz enjoyed better shot efficiency, and Bruna De Paula's impact helped the visitors to build up a two-goal cushion.
16:37
HALF-TIME: CSM BUCURESTI VS ROSTOV-DON 9:13
CSM have eased their task for the second half by allowing no Rostov goal in the final minutes of the period, while the Romanian side struck to close the gap to a more manageable four goals. The four-goal distance is still something of a mountain to climb for CSM, and the Russian side are surely cautiously optimistic of taking the two points home with them.
Our journalist Adrian Costeiu weighs in:
CSM’s talisman Cristina Neagu might not be enjoying her brightest patch of form. After she scored only two goals in the loss against Team Esbjerg last week, 21:22, she missed her first three shots against Rostov-Don, helping Russian goalkeeper Anastasiia Lagina to an otherworldly 66 per cent saving efficiency in the first 11 minutes. There was nothing CSM could do, as Rostov’s defence, touted to be one of the best this season, really pressured the Romanian side into making silly mistakes.
The result? Despite playing the last 10 minutes with seven players in attack, an all-in tactic by coach Adrian Vasile, CSM could not limit the damage. Rostov are cruising to the win, while the Romanian side had their worst first half in terms of goals scored since January, when they could only score nine times against future champions Vipers Kristiansand.
HALF-TIME: FTC VS PODRAVKA VEGETA 15:15
Just like CSM, FTC enjoyed a stronger end to the first half than their opponents and are rewarded with a level score line at the break. After they were the keys to Podravka's advantage, Mugoša and Milosavljevic added no further goals to their tally, while Angela Malestein contributed six for FTC in the first 30 minutes.
Journalist Adrian Costeiu shares his thoughts on the opening half:
This is still anyone’s game, but bear in mind that Podravka had an outstanding first half in the first round, outscoring Buducnost 22:12 at half-time, only to put six goals past the Montenegrin side in the second part of the game. This time around, the Croatian side’s form dipped in the last 10 minutes, after leading by as many as three goals throughout the first half.
Podravka missed plenty of shots, opening the door for FTC’s comeback. But the Hungarian champions have also been careless with the ball, yet boasting a steady hand in right wing Angela Malestein. We’re in for a tough second half in Erd.
16:34
HALF-TIME: MOTW ODENSE VS METZ 13:15
A strong end to the opening half sees Metz with a two-goal lead at the break in Denmark. A 38 per cent save rate from Metz goalkeeper Ivana Kapitanovic has played a key role for the French side, while in attack backs Bruna De Paula and Meline Nocandy have combined superbly with line player Astride N'gouan for a total of 10 goals from the trio.
16:27
Podravka Vegeta have grabbed the momentum against FTC and it's all driven by Dijana Mugoša and Dejana Milosavljevic, who have notched up four goals apiece.
Meanwhile in Bucharest, CSM are watching their opponents pull away further, as Rostov lead decisively at 13:7. It's an off day shooting wise for CSM, with the likes of Cristina Neagu and Carmen Martin having trouble converting their chances. New arrival and title winner from 2020/21 with Vipers, Emilie Arntzen, has been the sole salvation for the Romanian side, netting three times.
16:14
So far we have two very level games, with Odense vs Metz equal at 5:5 and FTC vs Podrava at 7:7 after 12 minutes, and a confident early lead for Rostov in Bucharest, 6:3.
Five-time title winner Eduarda Amorim is continuing proving she was a highly valuable transfer for Rostov as she leads the side together with Grace Zaadi, for a combined four of their six goals.
16:04
We are underway with round 2! Don't forget that alongside our live blog, you can stay right up to date with all the action on our EHF Champions League social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) — and be sure to follow the special stories on Instagram.
You can also follow the scores and statistics on the eurohandball.com ticker:
15:52
CSM and Rostov-Don are set for the opening whistle on a special match at 16:00 CEST, with Rostov coach Per Johansson facing his good friend and former colleague on the CSM bench, Adi Vasile.
"Adi Vasile is a great friend of mine. We spent plenty of time together. We enjoyed it a lot. I have even celebrated Easter with him and his family and learnt a lot about Romania. We will always be friends, but when the whistle is blown, for 60 minutes, we will only focus on the game. We will not be enemies, yet I want Rostov to win and he will want to beat me. He did not win against me, so this will be a motivation for him. But, after the end of the match, we will still be friends," Johansson told eurohandball.com this week.
Read the full feature interview below!
