Győr pre-season cup win marred by Görbicz injury

Six Women’s EHF Champions League hopefuls descended on Györ over the weekend for the PwC Handball Fiesta and three days of top class handball.

Alongside Leipzig, Metz, Rostov and Krim making the trip to Győr, the cup was the introduction of a new top team, Vardar, a team who are likely to be one of the strongest contenders for Europe’s top flight competition this season.

Their participation was also piquant with the temporary return of three players to the club they left in the past: Andrea Lekic, Jovanka Radicevic (this summer) and Ana Dokic (several years ago).

It was also a good test for the hosts Győr, who were focused on preparing for the start of the Hungarian League, with major rivals FTC waiting for them in the first round, rather than the results.

After two days of competition, the match-ups for the final day were set. Comprehensive victories for Györ and Vardar meant that they would meet for gold, Rostov-Don and Krim Mercator would battle for bronze, while Metz and Leipzig would try to avoid the wooden spoon.

It was an easy match for the bronze medal between Rostov and Krim, where the more relaxed Slovenians ran away with an eight goal victory.

In contrast, there was a really exciting match for fifth place between Leipzig and Metz. The game was all-square at 25:25 after 60 minutes, so penalties were needed to find a winner. The score remained level after five penalties each, before Leipzig finally took a 30:29 win over the French side.

Hosts Győr won their previous two games by double figures and were in equally impressive form against Vardar. The Hungarians took a 29:21 victory, but it came at a price, with the loss of key player Anita Görbicz in the middle of the first half.

Görbicz broke a finger on her left hand and was operated on right after the match. Although it is not her shooting hand, the prolific scorer is set to miss out on the next few weeks.



PwC Handball Fiesta results: 

Friday 23 August:
Győr - Metz 34:19
Leipzig - Rostov 28:29
Krim - Vardar 22:29

Saturday 24 August:
Győr - Leipzig 32:19
Krim - Rostov 21:27
Vardar - Metz 28:23

Sunday 25 August:
Leipzig - Metz 30:29 (5th place match)
Rostov - Krim 18:26 (bronze medal match)
Győr - Vardar 29:21 (final)

Fair play award: Rostov
Best goalkeeper: Katrine Lunde - Győri Audi ETO KC
Top goal scorer: Karolina Kudlacz - HC Leipzig
MVP: Andrea Lekic - WHC Vardar SCBT

Photo credit: Márta Kállai