Berlin, Magdeburg and Nantes reach Champions League quarter-finals

While Industria Kielce managed to take a 37:37 draw with Berlin on the night, the six-goal first-leg victory was more than enough for the German side. SC Magdeburg, in contrast, cruised to a 35:29 win over Dinamo Bucuresti to progress, while in the Match of the Week, HBC Nantes were shaken in the second half by Orlen Wisla Plock, but hung on for a 29:24 win (54:52 on aggregate).

• 12 Mathias Gidsel goals steered Füchse Berlin to their second-ever EHF Champions League quarter-final, after a great comeback against Kielce in crunch time
• Magdeburg led Dinamo by 11 goals at the break and went on to snatch their third straight quarter-final berth easily
• Nantes had a perfect start to their match against Plock after losing the reverse fixture 25:28, leading by nine goals at half-time
• however, the Polish side fought back in the final minutes to make it a much closer tie in the end
• the quarter-finals will be played between 24 April and 1 May with the group winners having the home rights in the second leg

PLAY-OFFS, SECOND LEG

Füchse Berlin (GER) vs Industria Kielce (POL) 37:37 (21:24)
Füchse Berlin win 70:64 on aggregate

As in the 2023/24 season, Industria Kielce were eliminated in the EHF Champions League knockout stages on German ground. Last year, the 2016 winners lost a dramatic penalty shootout in the quarter-final in Magdeburg; on Wednesday, a draw in Berlin was not enough for Talant Dujshebaev’s  team in the wake of last week’s 27:33 defeat by Berlin in Poland.

The outcome could have been very different. Six minutes before the end, Kielce had turned a level 28:28 score into a 35:31 lead, and needed just three more goals to reach the quarter-finals. But going too high-risk with a seventh court player decided the match: Berlin scored twice into the empty goal and then retook the lead before Alex Dujshebaev scored for the draw 30 seconds before the buzzer.

The first half was a goalfest with 45 goals, 10 of them scored by IHF World Player of the Year Mathias Gidsel, who finished the match on 12 strikes and now is on 106 season goals. Szymon Sicko was Kielce’s top scorer with eight goals.

Berlin will play their second Champions League quarter-final after their debut season, 2011/12, against 2021 and 2024 finalists Aalborg Håndbold.

MOTW: HBC Nantes (FRA) vs Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) 29:24 (17:8)
HBC Nantes win 54:52 on aggregate

Two years ago, HBC Nantes were defeated by Orlen Wisla Plock in the EHF Champions League play-offs after a penalty shootout on home ground, but this year the French side gained their revenge. For the fourth time in total and the first time since 2021, Nantes are in the quarter-finals, where they will face Sporting CP.

From the beginning, Nantes were eager to turn around the 25:28 defeat from the reverse fixture as soon as possible, and a brilliant 6:1 start was the basis for the quarter-final ticket. Goalkeeper Ivan Pesic saved 51 per cent of all shots before the break and ended with 14 saves on his tally (37.8 per cent). At the break, it looked like Nantes were in full control, with a 17:8 lead, which they extended to 22:11 in the 41st minute.

But then, the hosts allowed Plock to reduce the gap goal-by-goal and found themselves under pressure as the lead melted to only four goals — or one goal on aggregate — at 28:24 with 70 seconds left. In the end, Thibaut Briet’s final strike secured the five-goal win. Ayoub Abdi (Nantes) and Filip Michalowicz (Plock) were the top scorers, with six goals each.

SC Magdeburg (GER) vs Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU) 35:29 (21:10)
SC Magdeburg win 65:55 on aggregate

As in 2023 and 2024, SC Magdeburg are among the last eight teams in the EHF Champions League, and are the only team to have won both legs of the play-offs so far. The hosts took charge of the match from the whistle and, backed by an extraordinary performance from goalkeeper Sergey Hernandez and a cold-as-ice attack, led by 7:2 after eight minutes. They then extended the margin to 11:4 and had full control on the one-sided encounter.

The gap was up to 10 goals by the 28th minute (19:9), and after the break, Magdeburg decelerated and allowed Dinamo to win the second half 19:14, if not the match. The best scorers were Ómar Ingi Magnusson with eight goals for Magdeburg and Branko Vukovic with six goals for Dinamo. 

Magdeburg’s quarter-final opponents are One Veszprém HC. In the last four matches against the Hungarian record champions, SCM took two victories, tied once and lost once.

Photos © Heiko Voigt / foto-laechler.de, HBC Nantes, Eroll Popova