Gloria and Podravka make gains; Buducnost shock Vipers
With their only second win in the last six EHF Champions League Women matches, 31:28 against Storhamar Handball Elite, CS Gloria 2018 BN jumped into a provisional play-offs spot. Meanwhile HC Podravka Vegeta secured their third win in a row with a fantastic comeback against Nykøbing Falster Håndbold.
Buducnost recorded their maiden win of the season, shocking Vipers 26:20, while FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria delivered a fantastic performance (27:22) against Krim Mercator Ljubljana, ruining Ambros Martin's debut for the Slovenian side.
It was a close match until the last minutes, and I am really disappointed. This leaves us in a difficult position. We only have a mathematic chance to advance to the next round now.
It was a very important win for us. We played a good game, we had a good defence and we stuck to the plan.
Step-by-step I tried to change the system with the defence and I think this was the key today. We played like a team. We found the best option and I'm very proud of all my players because they didn't give up even though we played against one very strong team.
It was a difficult game away. The defence was too weak in the end and we threw away a lot of balls in the five last minutes.
At critical moments, the rivals were too strong on defence. We didn't have what it took to turn the game around. Overall, I am satisfied, nothing is changing. We are looking ahead, game by game. We need to relax a little bit more, especially in the moments when we could have turned the game.
It was a good game, I would have liked to have been a spectator. We couldn't wait for the game for many reasons. We knew that Krim had a new coach, so we didn't know what to expect. Overall, I am quite satisfied with this game.
We knew what Vipers had to offer, and they couldn’t surprise us. Everything we planned worked, and for the first time this season, there were no ups and downs. Our focus was excellent for all 60 minutes, and all the girls got a chance to play and contributed.
I knew it would be tough, and I am disappointed with the performance we showed. We didn’t have a good rhythm, and we gave away easy goals, while Buducnost had an excellent Armelle Attingré on goal. We made too many mistakes, and this just wasn’t our day.
