Constanta through, Bosna surprises

Only two places for the last 16 of the Men’s Champions League are free – and they will be decided on the tenth and last round of the group phase next weekend. The 14^th place was secured by Constanta in group A, where all four teams for the next stage are known now – like in group D before. In group C Alingsas won their second match against Fyllingen and still has a very very little chance to overtake FCK, by beating them in Denmark with a difference of at least 13 goals. Everything’s open again in group B, as Bosna Sarajewo surprisingly beat Kielce and is equal in points (5) now to Velenje and Chambery, but the French have the chance to take more points on Sunday against Löwen. One of this trio will qualify for the last 16, but Bosna has to play at the Löwen in the last round. In this group Veszprem secured the first place by beating Velenje, and Löwen will finish this round second. Thanks to the clear victory against Kolding, Kiel can’t be thrown from the second place in group D, but still has the chance to become number one, depending on the Barca results.

Group A:

HCM Constanta – AC PAOK 34:23 (14:9)

HCM Constanta needed one point against the Greek team to qualify for the first time ever for the second stage of the Champions League, but they showed a strong performances and beat PAOK clearly. Top scorer for the Romanians was Laurentiu Toma with 13 goals. “We were highly motivated and it’s wonderful to make this dream come true to qualify for the last 16,”, he said. It took 20 minutes, before Constanta controlled the game and accelerated. They extended the lead from minute to minute, even as PAOK could come closer in minute 40 and the score of 20:17. Then the Greek lacked power and thanks to a 9:2 series Constanta decided the match at the 29:19.

Pevafersa Valladolid – Pick Szeged 35:35 (13:19)

Even as Pick knew the result of Constanta and as it was obvious that they’re eliminated from the last 16 they fought hard against the favoured team of Valladolid. The Spaniards were confused in the first half, and Pick led surprisingly clear 19:13 after 30 minutes. Thanks to five consecutive goals, Valladolid only needed eight minutes to come closer to 18:19, turned the game, led 25:23 in minute 42, before Szeged again took the lead (28:26). From minute 50 on the match was totally equal, and Entrerrios scored the last and equalizing goal in this game rich of goals. Entrerrios and Rentero were the Valladolid top scorers with each eight goals, Katzriz and Zvizej scored the same number of goals for Pick.

Group B:

MKB Veszprem – RK Gorenje 30:25 (15:11)

Veszprem remains number one in group B after this easy victory and will finish the group phase as number one, even when Löwen win both matches and MKB lose in Kielce next weekend.Velenje need to win the last match against Chambery to qualify for the last 16. The game was equal until the 10:9, before Veszprem extended the lead to 15:11 at the break and 20:14 in minute 42. Thanks to an extra ordinary performance of goalkeeper Nandor Fazekas, who replaced ill Dejan Peric, the Hungarians decided the game at the score of 28:19 in minute 52.

Bosna Gas – Vive Targi Kielce 25:21 (10:9)

The biggest surprise of match day nine occurred in Sarajewo, where Bosna took the second victory in this season against favoured team from Kielce.Thanks to a great team spirit the Bosnians kept their hopes alive for qualifying for the last 16. For the disappointing Polish champion that was already qualified for the last 16, it was the third consecutive CL defeat in 2010. Top scorers were Knudsen (Kielce/6) and Medjic (Bosna/5). Even as Kielce had little advantages in the first half, the Polish champion wasn’t able to break the Bosnian defense.

Group C:

Alingsas HK – Fyllingen Handball 32:24 (16:9)

Fyllingen’s still waiting for their first ever point in the Champions League. Again the Norwegians didn’t have a chance in the Nordic duel, even as they reduced the gap from 11:20 to 20:23 in the second half. Alingsas played cleverer and with more tactical alternatives. The game was decided in minute 55 and the score of 29:22. Alingsas with now four points on their account need a big wonder and a 13 goal victory in Copenhague to qualify for the next stage.

HSV Hamburg – FCK Handbold 33:25 (14:15)

4000 spectators saw a game of two halves: FCK played strong before the break and led deserved, but then the HSV express started rolling and decided the match in minute 51 and the score of 29:22. HSV remains on second position and have to wait for the result of Zagreb in Ciudad on Sunday. The final ranking will be decided in the very last match of this group next Sunday between Zagreb and Hamburg. The match was equal until minute 39 and the score of 18:18, before HSV goalkeeper Per Sandström improved and his team mates scored easy counter attack goals. “We played weak before the break, but in the second half our defense stood well,” HSV coach Martin Schwald said. His counterpart Magnus Andersson (coach of FCK) added: „We’re satisfied with our performance, as we played very strong for 40 minutes. But if you want to beat a team like HSV you have to be strong for 60 minutes. In the end we lacked some power.”

Group D:

THW Kiel – KIF Kolding 38:23 (20:10)

After Hamburg had beaten FCK, Kiel won the second German – Danish duel even clearer and took revenge for the draw in Kolding in the first match. Specially in the first half Kiel showed a real gala, as Aron Palmarrsson and Christian Zeitz played outstanding. It only took 27 minutes for THW to decide the game with a ten goal lead (19:9), and it were 17 goals after 48 minutes, the biggest gap. The 900 Danish spectators among the 10.250 fans became quite very fast, as their team didn’t have any chance. “We made too many technical mistakes, Kiel was much too strong for us,” Kolding assistant coach Flemming Pedersen said. THW coach Alfred Gislasson had expected a very close match, but the was surprised how the game ended: “We played incredible, like we did one week before in Leon. Brave defense, strong goalkeeper, effective attack – perfect!” Topscorers were Illic (Kiel/9) and Karlsson (Kolding/5).

Amicitia Zürich – Vardar Skopje 24:31 (18:15)

„Our defense played an excellent second half and goalkeeper Petar Angelov showed a sensational performance,“ Vardar Ljubomir Savevski summarized the key factors of this victory – the first one for his team in the current CL season. Thanks to these two points Vardar reached the fifth place in this group. Despite Amicitia played a very strong first half with a clear 15:8 lead intermediately the Macedonianstook the points. The Swiss team lost the control of the match right after the break and lost the second half 6:16! Only goalkeeperArunas Vaskevicius and top scorer Toni Kern (7 goals) tried to avoid the defeat, but they stood on their own. Vardar top scorer was Radoslav Stojanovic (6 goals).