Group C:

HC Dinamo-Minsk - Chekhovskie Medvedi 27:34 (18:18)

An excellent last quarter of the match decided the game in favour of the fancied Russians. The Bears won the last 10 minutes clearly by 10:1 and this second victory in the third game also means the lead in Group C for the team of coach Maximov. Something similar happened to the Russians last week in Valladolid, where Medvedi showed great fighting spirit and won the last phase of the match 7:2, though it wasn’t enough there for a victory as they were down by 5 goals - the game ended as draw.

Statements after the match:

Vladimir Maximov, coach of Chekhovskie Medvedi: "We have had a very tough game today - it was equal for a long period. We could only make things comfortable and achieve victory in the last decisive phase of the match due to some great effort and goals from my players. The young local team became nervous in the last part and we used every opportunity to score. In my opinion, Minsk could have won this game easily."

Sergei Bebeshko, coach of HC Dinamo-Minsk: "It feels hard to give comments after a match against such a strong and experienced opponent. We failed in the last quarter and their goalkeeper Oleg Grams defended marvelously. It seems to me that my players broke down psychologically. On the physical side, we looked equal and fought bravely for 50 minutes. I congratulate the opponent on the victory, as the Bears were able to react at the right time, with determination, and they took home the two points."

Group D:

St. Petersburg HC - HC Croatia Osiguranje ZAGREB 28:35 (12:16)

In the third round of the VELUX EHF Champions League, the team of Nenad Kljaić celebrated its second victory, and with it, took the lead of their group prior to the other weekend games.

From the early minutes it was clear which team was going to win the match, as Zagreb established a clear lead (7:2). Despite some missed 7-meters, the team around world star Ivano Balić had a decent four-goal lead after 30 minutes. Marko Kopljar, Zlatko Horvat and Tonči Valčić were especially hard to stop, and they had three goals each on their account at half time.

In the second half, Zagreb quickly and furiously increased the margin to 7 goals. They gave their Russian opponent no respite as they punished any mistakes, and ten minutes before the end, they led by 10 goals. Top scorer for the Croats was Tonči Valčić with 6 goals.

A harder task will await Balić and co in the next round, as on the 16th October they’ll face the strong Spanish Ciudad Real on home soil.

Statement after the match:

Vlado Šola, sport director of HC Croatia Osiguranje ZAGREB: "Unfortunately we missed a great chance against HC Bosna Sarajevo last weekend. We could have had six points after our three away appearances. Now we’ll welcome Ciudad Real at home, and we’ll have to give our utmost on-court to collect two points from that game."