FTC return to the group matches at expense of rivals

The all Hungarian final was always set to be a great encounter and so it proved to be, as FTC clawed their way back into the game and into the Women’s EHF Champions League Group Matches



FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria - ÉRD 31:24 (13:16)

When looking at the result of the match between the second and third team of last season’s Hungarian league, it seems like an easy match for FTC, but it was far from easy.

ÉRD found the right tactics and executed excellently against their rivals to lead by two or three goals throughout the first half.

In the beginning of the second half FTC pulled themselves together and their goalkeeper Melinda Szikora pulled off a string of brilliant saves.

A very unfortunate injury to Krisztina Triscsuk, who took a powerful Tomori shot to the face, spelled the end for ÉRD as they could not recover from the loss of a key player.

The home team FTC took the seven goal win and qualified to Group B of the Women’s EHF Champions League, while ÉRD will continue in the third round of the EHF Cup Winners' Cup.

“I can say it wasn't our weekend. We could not show our real play. We were fighting as a team in the second half and achieved our plan. Now we only have to concentrate on the group matches, where we have to improve a lot,” Zsuzsanna Tomori, who was the best scorer of the match by seven goals, told DigiSport.

“It was a new situation for us that we had such a big pressure on our shoulders as we were the favourites on home court. We only could consume ÉRD's energy in the second half. We will have a much stronger group than last season. So we must pull ourselves together,” admits FTC coach Gábor Elek.



RK Lokomotiva Zagreb - LK Zug Handball 35:24 (18:10)

It was an easy match for the Croatians who were already leading 3:0 after the first minutes. Both teams were using 6-0 defence system but Zug were the first to run out of steam.

The difference grew continuously and it was an eight goal advantage for Zagreb at half time (18:10).

The Croatians' coach Nenad Sostaric could give court time to all of his players in the second half and no less than twelve of his players scored at least one goal.

Zagreb will join the Cup Winners' Cup in the third round and will play against Romanian side ASC Corona 2010 Brasov, while Zug will join the second round in a tie against Greek outfit O. F. N. Ionias.