Review of the Women´s Cup Winners' Cup Quarter-finals

Two one-sided affairs and two results promising big thrillers in the second leg were recorded in the first leg matches of the quarter-finals in the Women´s Cup Winners´ Cup last weekend. Thüringer HC and Hypo are virtually in the semi-finals after remarkable wins on the courts of their opponents.

The second leg will be played next weekend (16/17 March).

Balonmano Bera Bera (ESP) vs Thüringer HC (GER) 15:33 (7:9)

German champions proved to be a much harder challenge for Bera Bera than the Polish title holders in the previous round.

After eliminating Gdynia in the last 16 last month despite trailing by twelve goals after the first leg, the Spanish runners-up failed to repeat the brilliant performance again. After a close first half the home team crumbled and were beaten by eighteen goals.

Their fate seems to be all but sealed before the second leg in Germany. The top scorer of the match was Slovakian back player of THC Lýdia Jakubisová with seven goals.

Dinamo Volgograd (RUS) vs Hypo NÖ (AUT) 22:31 (11:17)

Volgograd suffered another heavy blow on the home court as the four-time EHF Champions League winners and record Austrian champions from Hypo made a huge step towards the semi-finals.

After losing two home matches by double digits in the European top flight last autumn Russian champions experienced another bitter setback as their chances of reaching the top four has been reduced to minimum. Two Brazilian internationals Alexandra Do Nascimento and Fernanda Franca da Silva combined for 20 goals for visitors.

Váci NKSE (HUN) vs Issy Paris Hand (FRA) 24:23 (9:11)

The only quarter-finalist without any experience from the EHF Champions League remained unbeaten at home this season, but it will be a difficult task to defend their tiny one goal advantage in the second leg in Paris.

The Hungarian team will need more shooters who could join their top scorer Szabina Tapai (7 goals) in the rematch next week.

Rostov-Don (RUS) vs HC Leipzig (GER) 22:18 (12:10)

The match between the Russian side and the last season´s semi-finalists turned into a shooting exhibition of two players.

The Polish back player of Leipzig Karolina Kudlacz scored more than a half of her team´s total (10), but still left six goals behind the unstoppable Ukrainian Regina Shymkute as she allowed her team-mates to score only six goals in total. With her 16 tallies she reached 50 goals in this season.