Cup Winners´ Cup: Hypo and Issy in the final

One of the most decorated European club and one debutant stand on the start line of the final race for the Cup Winners´ Cup trophy after the Austrian powerhouse Hypo NÖ eliminated the last German participant in the women´s European club competitions and Issy succeeded for the second time just by one goal against Russia´s Rostov Don.

The draw of the home right in each leg of the final will take place on Tuesday 16 April at 11:00 hrs at the EHF Office in Vienna. The first leg of the final is scheduled for 4/5 May followed by the second leg 11/12 May.

Hypo NÖ (AUT) vs Thüringer HC (GER) 24:22 (11:9)
First leg: 32:32

The record Austrian champions are on the way to their sixth trophy in the EHF history of the European club competitions. After nine years they are back in the final of the Cup Winners´ Cup and can add another success to their four EHF Champions League trophies and one Champions Trophy cup.

But the second leg against German title holders was wide open until 15 minutes to the end. Following their draw in the first leg both teams showed a very good work in defence and especially in the goal of Hypo Brazilian Barbara Arenhart added a stellar performance with 27 saves.

“It is a great joy to be in the final again. The match was not as fast as in the first leg, what was our advantage, because our opponents could not use their second wave so frequently,” Hypo coach András Németh said for the club´s official website.

“We made too many mistakes tonight, but this was not due to the lack of form. Hypo´s defence eliminated our strongest weapon – the second wave. Now, I will keep my fingers crossed for Hypo in the final,“ said Austrian right back Katrin Engel from THC who spent five seasons with Hypo.

Gorica Acimovic, Alexandra Do Nascimento and Franca da Silva led the home team with five goals each, Kerstin Wohlbold was Thüringer HC best scorer with six goals.

Rostov-Don (RUS) vs Issy Paris Hand (FRA) 19:20 (10:10)
First leg: 22:23

The Palace of Sports in Rostov has have a new audience record as the second leg match of the home team against Issy Paris Hand was played in front of the sell-out crowd of over 2300 spectators.

After only one goal defeat in the first leg Rostov hoped to turn the table on the home court, but could not break the resistance of the French team. The game saw a dramatic finish with an unlucky outcome for the Russian side as Paris managed to repeat their win by a narrowest margin and qualify for the final.

The top scorers of the match were Regina Shymkute for Rostov (7 goals) and Karolina Gardoni for Issy (5 goals).

Photo: Bernhard Garaus