First teams clinch next round, as exciting return legs are set up

Förthof UHK Krems beat HC Fivers WAT Maragareten in the first leg of the Austrian derby 31:27, extending their winning streak over Fivers to four matches. After an even first quarter, the hosts created a five-goal gap at half-time (15:10). Shortly after the break, the visitors were able to cut the gap to two goals, yet this comeback was cut short by technical faults and two suspensions only 23 seconds apart, which allowed Krems to pull away once more and secure a four-goal advantage for the second leg next Saturday.

• HB Dudelange were the first team to book their ticket to the third round, beating KH Rahoveci 86:61 on aggregate in their double-header in Luxembourg; Dudelange’s Samuel Itua Etute scored 18 goals across both matches
• SKKP Handball Brno beat Pallamano Conversano in a double-header on home soil (56:47 on aggregate); Brno’s goalkeeper Marco-Jan Terlecki recorded 24 saves (37.5 per cent) across both matches
• four teams have a two-goal advantage going into the second leg: HC Dinamo Pancevo (29:27 against HCB Karvina), Sparkasse Schwaz Handball Tirol (29:27 against Dragunas Klaipeda), Nærbø IL (32:30 against MOL Tatabanya KC) and HSC Suhr Aarau (30:28 against HC Metaloplastika Elixir)
• Cassano Magnago HC take a one-goal advantage (29:28) back home to Italy after a narrow victory over HV KRAS/Volendam in the Netherlands on Saturday
• last season’s semi-finalists Runar Sandefjord and HC Izvidac opened their European Cup campaigns with dominant victories: Sandefjord beat Estonian club Viljandi HC 45:26 away, and Izvidac recorded a 40:19 home win against KH Besa Famgas, fuelled by nine goals from Filip Odak
• Olympiacos SFP have a six-goal advantage (34:28) against Teamnetwork Albatro Siracusa and the teams meet again on Monday at 18:30 CEST for the second leg

Gradimir Chanevski locks the door

GRK Ohrid goalkeeper Gradimir Chanevski closed and locked the door — and probably threw the key away — against HC Baki in the first leg on Saturday. Chanevski made 22 saves from 33 shots (66.6 per cent efficiency), helping the Macedonian side to a dominant 44:11 win.

Ohrid conceded only four goals in the second half, and HC Baki only managed to score from 28 per cent of their shots. Chanevski even saved all three penalty attempts.

On Sunday, GRK Ohrid cruised to another dominant victory, winning 38:21 and booking their ticket to the third round. After his efforts on Saturday, Chanevski was rested, but his substitutes showed they were more than capable of the task: Bojan Blazhevski stopped nine shots (42.9 per cent), and Bojan Krstevski seven (43.8 per cent).

Main photo © Ern Ferrari