Round 3 set after high-scoring weekend, Olympiacos survive

Estonian side Mistra and their Baltic rivals VHC Sviesa from Lithuania added another chapter to their rivalry. Before the second leg on Saturday, recent history was on Sviesa’s side, winning three of their last four encounters in the Baltic Handball league and snatching the first leg 34:30, as well. However, Mistra probably do not care about that after winning the second leg 31:25, delivering a masterclass in the first half, leading 17:9 at the break. A 7:0 run to make it 11:4 opened the door for Mistra. After that, Sviesa could not close the gap to less than five goals. Sergei Orlovski was unstoppable, scoring 11 goals for the home side.

• CS Minaur Baia Mare showed off all of their offensive strengths in their double-header against Beykoz BLD SK; after scoring 44 goals in the first leg, the Romanian side scored 47 in the second leg; going through by 91:69 on aggregate
• AHC Potaissa Turda and RK Jeruzalem Ormoz went into their second legs against GRK Ohrid and RK Borac m:tel, respectively, with a six-goal disadvantage; both teams turned it around with double-digit wins at home (39:29 & 33:19)
• MRK Krka and RK Leotar Trebinje were up by two goals after the first leg; both teams secured tickets to round 3 by drawing in the second leg; Krka drew 28:28 against HC Metaloplastika Elixir, Trebinje conceded three goals in the last 76 seconds to draw 25:25 against ZRHK TENAX Dobele
• former Barça legend Cédric Sorhaindo and Besiktas left Serbia with a little scare; after winning the first leg at home by seven goals and leading halfway through the return leg, HC Dinamo Pancevo tried to mount a comeback; yet, their 5:0 run from the 49th to 56th minute to gain a four-goal lead came too little too late in the end
• HC Alkaloid extended their streak of scoring more than 30 goals in competitive matches this season; after winning the first leg against Dragunas Klaipeda 42:31 at home, they went to Lithuania and won 37:31; both times surpassing the average score from their domestic league campaign (35.4 goals per game) 
• AHC Potaissa Turda’s Radu Cristian Ghita scored the most goals in a single match in round 2; he netted 15 times in his side’s 39:29 second leg win over GRK Ohrid

© Ovy Drag

Last season’s runners-up Olympiacos SFP survive early exit scare

With 57 seconds on the clock, a miracle was in sight. HC Fivers WAT Margareten had cut a nine-goal deficit from last week’s first leg against Olympiacos SFP to just one goal. The crowd in Sporthalle Hollgasse in Vienna was ready to erupt completely. Yet, Predrag Vejin and Konstantinos Kotanidis had other plans, helping their team when needed the most. Veijn scored a clutch goal after a superb move to break through in a one-on-one and Kotanidis saved against winger Jakob Nigg. The Austrian side exit the competition with their heads held up high after their dreams of a miracle started, thanks to a 5:1 run, giving them a seven-goal lead with nine minutes to go and a 35:29 win, which should not be enough in the end.