Malaga close in on final after big home win

Defending champions Costa del Sol Malaga have one foot in the EHF European Cup Women 2021/22 final. In the first leg of their semi-final, the Spanish team won 36:21 after dominating the match against Serbian rivals ZRK Bekament Bukovicka Banja.

• Brazil's Isabelle Dos Santos was Malaga's best scorer with 10 goals
• the second semi-final tie is much more open, as the Ukrainian champions HC Galychanka Lviv beat Spain's Rocasa Gran Canaria by the smallest of margins, 20:19
• this match took place in Hodonin, Czech Republic, as Galychanka relocated there after the war broke out in Ukraine
• in the 57th minute, Rocasa led 19:17, but Lviv drew level at 19:19 before team captain Tetiana Poliak scored the winner from the seven-metre line with four seconds to go
• the second-leg matches will be played on 2/3 April

Goalkeeping plays a big role

Two goalkeepers who have a lot of experience in Spain's national team did an excellent job on Saturday. For Malaga, Mercedes Castellanos stopped 14 shots for a 50 per cent save rate, while Rocasa veteran Silvia Navarro finished with a 42 per cent save efficiency after making 14 saves.

However, it was Galychanka's Viktoriia Saltaniuk who made the most saves – 17 – and her 47 per cent save rate was a key factor in Lviv's victory.