Leipzig one step closer to return

After last season absence the HC Leipzig are on the way back to the Women´s EHF Champions League. The German record champions beat hosts of the Wild Card Tournament Issy Paris Hand 21:16 on Friday and if they defeat Zvezda Zvenigorod on Saturday they could start celebrations of the ticket to the Group Matches regardless on the result of the Sunday match between the home team and the Russian participants.

Leipzig´s playmaker Karolina Kudłacz scored nine goals and was instrumental in creating the decisive four goals advantage before the break. After very tight first fifteen minutes (7:7) Leipzig started to profit from her performance combined with a splendid defensive work. The last twenty minutes turned into a goalkeeping show between Pesoa from Paris and Schülke from Leipzig and as a result the score 18:14 remained unchanged for ten minutes.

"We lost too many balls to have a chance for a victory. Despite Maïssa Pesoa was great in the goal in the second half, we were not able to capitalise on many of our chances. But we will do our best to win the second match against Zvezda to please our fans," the left winger of Issy Coralie Lassource said. The 194 cm tall Mariama Signaté scored more than a half of French side´s goals (9).

"If we repeat the same performance against Zvezda, we have a fair chance to succeed," stated the manager of Leipzig Kay-Sven Hähner for the official site of the German club.

Find more on the Women´s EHF Champions League Qualification here

Photo: Kevin Domas