The first confrontation between the two teams this season had been a one-sided affair, Nantes winning by 12 in Finland.
Tonight's game was a tighter matter, Cocks keeping contact for most of the first half before exploding after the break. The French side had more rotations and their offense proved to be too strong for the visitors.
Three rounds before the end of the group phase, Nantes have now booked their Last 16 ticket while Cocks are eliminated.
GROUP B :
HBC Nantes (FRA) vs Cocks (FIN) 36:25 (17:12)
- it was not until the 20th minute that any team took an advantage bigger than three goals, and the hosts did it, using the opportunity of Nikola Kedzo's red card to break away
- From there on, the momentum was clearly on Nantes' side, with the French side steadily increasing the gap on the scoreboard
- two players scored seven, one for each team: Rok Ovnicek for Nantes and Piotr Rybski for Cocks
- Thanks to this win, Nantes proceed to the Last 16 while Cocks are now out of the qualification race
Nantes, 100% qualification rate
Eight times have Nantes played a European competition group phase, and eight times have they managed to qualify for the Last 16. No matter if its is in the EHF Champions League, the EHF Cup or the European League, the French side always seems to negotiate these long runs pretty well.
Whether they will finally manage to lift the trophy at the end of the season remains to be seen, though Nantes did at least reinforce an old habit of theirs.
