Perfect Danish weekend

Day 3 of the first Round of the Women´s EHF Champions League brought high tension and quality games with Krim winning a thriller in Koprivnica, Budućnost having a tough game against Thüringer HC, and with Randers causing a big surprise by defeating a disappointing Győri AUDI ETO.

GROUP A

Thüringer HC (GER) vs. Budućnost (MNE) 23:27 (9:13)


In their first ever EHF Champions League game, Thüringer HC did everything to surprise the Montenegrins, but Budućnost´s players kept their head cool and celebrated a well-deserved away victory.

Coach Herbert Müller´s team presented itself in good shape, with back player Petra Popluharova performing particularly well, but it was the team from Podgorica that made the better start to lead clearly. The German trainer was forced to call an early time out.

It seemed to help, but despite an enthusiastic performance in both periods, THC were not able to reduce the gap and turn the match. On Budućnost´s side both world class players Katarina Bulatović and Bojana Popović had a solid game, scoring seven times each.

GROUP B

HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO) vs. RK Krim Mercator (SLO) 23:24 (13:12)


In a tight thriller, the Slovenian champions had the lucky hand at the end and won the game thanks to their Croatian players.

The lead changed hands several times during the game, and whilst in the first half it was the Croats showcasing their best, in the second, Krim improved and capitalized on the mistakes of their opponents.

The winner of the match, Croatian international Jelena Grubišić stood very well in the Krim goal, having 14 saves in total, whilst Andrea Penezić scored 7 times. In Podravka´s team, Lidija Horvat had a `black´ day, not scoring any goals, whilst the home defence had some holes in their defensive wall, allowing left-handed Ibolya Mehlmann to score easy goals.

In Round 2 Podravka will travel to defending champions Larvik, whilst Krim will welcome Viborg in a match of the two Round 1 winners in Ljubljana.

GROUP C

Randers HK (DEN) vs. Győri AUDI ETO KC (HUN) 29:23 (15:11)


The high expectations of Hungary´s champion evaporated after 60 minutes in Randers, where Jan Leslie´s team outclassed the favoured Hungarians and beat them in every aspect of the game.

The Danes produced a rock solid defense throughout the whole period, whilst the Hungarians acted nervously and seemingly without a plan in their CL opener, and lost the first game, as in the last two seasons.

Based on their defence, Randers were very effective in their attacks, causing Győr´s keepers massive problems from the backcourt, especially through Camilla Dalby´s surprise shots, but also through the line and wings.

AUDI ETO weren´t able to re-produce their classy pre-season performance and could only close the gap to two goals. When forcing a quick attacking game plan, the Hungarians often lost the ball or failed to beat the outstanding Randers goalkeeper Chana Masson, who was the player of the game. The difference might have flattered, but Randers surely deserved a victory against a disappointing AUDI ETO.