Velenje win qualification thriller

It was a real thriller in Velenje – but the host had a happy end against Chambery: The Slovenians needed a victory against the French team to reach the knock-out stage and they secured the two points in the very last minute. As Velenje is qualified now, ten different nations will meet in the last 16 up to now. Aside Barcelona missed the chance to decide groupD as they tied in Kolding. Ciudad Real remained spotless after an easy victory in Fyllingen.

On Sunday the last decisions will be taken: If Kiel beat Vardar Skopje the Germans will become number one in group D thanks to the better direct encounter against Barcelona. Zagreb need a ten goal victory against Hamburg to reach the second place in group C, in which FCK can easily take the chance to qualify for the last 16 against Alingsas.

Group B:

Vive Targi Kielce – MKB Veszprem 29:32 (14:14)

Thanks to their ninth victory in the tenth group match MKB Veszprem again showed their ambitions. Kielce lost all four matches after the EURO break, but had been qualified for the last 16 as third team of the group before like group winner Veszprem and Löwen. Match winner for the Hungarians was Gergö Ivanscik with eleven goals. The game was totally equal until the score of 20:20, before Veszprem scored three consecutive goals and kept the lead until the end. Aside Ivanscik Perez and Terzic (each seven goals) played great for the guest team, as Jurasik and Stojkovic were Kielce’s top scorers with each six goals. “It was a top match from both teams,” Veszprem coach Lajos Mocsai said: “Kielce put us under pressure in the first half, but after the break we caught up and had the better individual players.” His counterpart Bogdan Wenta (coach of Kielce) said: “We made too many mistakes to win this game. Veszprem will come very far in this season.”

Rhein Neckar Löwen – Bosna Gas Sarajewo 30:24 (13:11)

By losing at the Löwen Bosna missed the chance to qualify for the last 16, even before the more decisive match Velenje – Chambery had started. For the Löwen which had secured the second place in group B before, Grzegorz Tkaczyk and Bjarte Myrhol returned after injuries. Myrhol was the top scorer with six goals. Most of the German key players could take a rest in this match, and some young talents had their first ever appearance in the Champions League. After the 4:5 Löwen dominated the game and extended the lead after the break quite easily thanks to the 20 saves of goalkeeper Henning Fritz. The match was decided seven minutes before the end at the score of 28:19. Bosna top scorer was Kapisoda with eight goals.

Gorenje Velenje – Chambery Savoie 28:24 (18:11)

The players danced on the field the spectators, all dressed in yellow, sung and shouted on the stands as the final whistle was blown. After a very tough fight with two red cards and a lot of suspensions Velenje celebrated their second qualification for the last 16 after 2006. But even as the final results looks quite comfortable Velenje had to struggle until the last minute. The Slovenians seemed to have paved the way to the last 16 at the break, as they led 18:11. But right afterwards they confused totally, missed nearly all chances, became nervous and hectic and caused a lot of suspensions. Thanks to a 8:2 series during twelve minutes Chambery was very close to turn the game at the score of 20:19 for Gorenje. After a time out the host took a deep breath and took control of the match again – but only for a while. Two minutes before the end Roine scored the 24:23 and everything was open again – as Chambery only needed a draw to reach the fourth place in this group. But they couldn’t equalize, even when coach Philippe Gardent send a seventh field player on the court. 35 seconds before the end Momir Rnic decided the match with the 26:24, then the Chambery resistance was broken and Velenje scored twice in 25 seconds to the final score of 28:24.

Group C:

Fyllingen Handball – Ciudad Real 17:39 (10:23)

Easy work for the reigning champion to reach their tenth victory in the tenth group match, as Fyllingen remains without one single point as only team in the whole CL. Ciudad didn’t have any problems, even as coach Talant Dushebajew couldn’t travel to Norway due to private matters. It only took six minutes, before Ciudad led 8:1 and pre decided the one sided match. The Spanish defense stood great and in attack the reigning champion went through Fyllingen like a knife through warm butter. After the half time score of 23:10 Ciudad scored another 10:2 series – and afterwards thejunior players Gonzalo Calvo, Alex Dujshebaev and Antonio Carreño gained international experience. Top scorers were Aguinagalde (8 for Ciudad) and Reinkind, Bjornsen and Benevoli with each three goals for Fyllingen.

Group D:

KIF Kolding – FC Barcelona 25:25 (10:12)

Barcelona missed the great chance to win the group and has to shiver until Sunday, when Kiel meet Skopje. If THW win this match they’re equal in points with Barca, but have won the direct encounter. If this will happen, Kiel’s the group winner ahead of Barcelona. For Kolding it was the second draw against a top team on home soil after the tie against Kiel – but the Danes missed the chance to secure the third place. Barcelona had to thank Laszlo Nagy who scored the equalizer with the final whistle after a high tension final stage of this game of two teams that had been qualified for the last 16 before. Best player on the field was KIF goalkeeper Anders Petersen who saved 16 shots. Top scorer were Spellerberg (Kolding/6) and Nagy (5). Barca was the better team in the first half an led constantly, Kolding equalized at the score of 17:17 for the first time, but then took the lead in the final stage of the game. As Sondergaard score the 24:22 in the last minute, everybody expected a Kolding victory, but then Nagy equalized to 24:24. Five seconds before the end Karlson hit the back of the net for the 25:24, before again Nagy surprisingly to the Danish spectators scored the final result.

Ademar Leon – Amicitia Zürich 30:28 (16:11)

Thanks to the narrow victory against Zürich, Leon took the third place in group D. As the Spaniards are equal in points to Kolding the direct encounter had to decide – and as Leon had won in Kolding 22:21 after a draw in the first match, Ademar now has a quite better base in the last 16 in contrast to the Danes. By becoming third Ademar avoided a Spanish duel in the last 16. Leon was in control of the match from minute 12 on, before Amicitia was an equal opponent. But Zürich fought hard, even as it was obvious that they couldn’t win the game. The Swiss champion finished the group phase with one single point. Six minutes before the end the match was decided at the score of 28:22.