Road to Budapest unravels

The halfway mark of the EHF Champions League Main Round could foray the prime candidates to reach the Women's EHF FINAL4 in Budapest, as three of the four front-runners are at home and have a good chance of putting some distance between themselves and the chasing pack.

Stung by last weekend’s draw at Sweden’s Sävehof, Macedonian champions and Group 1 leaders Vardar will take nothing for granted at home against second-placed Midtjylland. German title holders Thüringer are at home to Sävehof with both teams hoping to stay in the hunt for a top-two finish in their section.

Buducnost, the 2012 winners, impressed in last weekend’s mauling of Krim Mercator and carrying the momentum of that performance into the home game against Larvik would give them every chance of making a big step towards the showpiece event in the Hungarian capital.

Holders Györ are strong favourites against Krim and anything less than an emphatic win against their Slovenian rivals on home court would amount to a big surprise.      
 
Group 1
WHC Vardar SCBT (MKD) vs FC Midtjylland (DEN)
Saturday 18.00 local time in Skopje, live on ehfTV

This has been an eagerly awaited clash after both teams romped into the Main Round as winners of their respective preliminary stage groups and it promises to deliver a spectacle to a thronged arena in the Macedonian capital.

Billed as overwhelming favourites in their pool to advance to the FINAL4, Vardar discovered last weekend that they will have to work hard for a berth in Budapest as they came perilously close to suffering their first Champions League defeat of the season against the most unlikely opposition.

Hence their coach Indira Kastratovic struck several notes of caution ahead of the match, emphasising that her expensively assembled team were in uncharted territory unlike their more experienced rivals.

“We know full well who Midtjylland are and how long they have played in European competition,” Kastratovic told a news conference. “We will have to be air-tight in defence and play much better than in the previous two matches. The most important thing is that we are at full strength and looking forward to the challenge,” she said.

French playmaker Allison Pineau added: “It is definitely going to be a tough match because Midtjylland are a team packed with good players, but hopefully we can avoid another drama after being pushed to the limit at Sävehof.

Midtjylland got some solace for their disappointing defeat at Thüringer with a 22:17 Danish league win at Ringkobing Handball, having gone through the motions against unfancied opposition. Coach Helle Thomsen made it clear the team were still reeling from the setback in Germany.

“Clearly we had a lot on our mind after Saturday and we just needed to get it out of our system. Fortunately, we reacted positively and got everyone involved in the game,” said Thomsen.

A win or a draw would leave Midtjylland well-placed to advance to the FINAL4 but defeat would pile the pressure on the Danish side with Thüringer and Sävehof breathing down their necks.

Thüringer HC (GER) vs IK Sävehof (SWE)   
Saturday 15.00 local time in Nordhausen, live on ehfTV

Neither of these teams were considered FINAL4 candidates at the start of the season and few pundits fancied their chances even after they reached the Main Round in contrasting fashion.

But excellent performances in the opening two games, garnished by unexpected results against more fancied opponents, have boosted their hopes of mixing it with Europe’s best in the first week of May.

Thüringer showed great will-power and character to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Midtjylland and there is little doubt the success has put wind in their sails ahead of two vital meetings with Sävehof, who had Vardar on the ropes for 55 minutes before salvaging a last-gasp draw.

Thüringer warmed up for the clash in their noisy Nordhausen Arena with a convincing 35:19 German league win at HSG Bensheim as Dutch pivot Danick Snelder led the charge with six goals.

Sävehof, who have won seven of the last eight national titles in Sweden, are a fast-improving side in Europe and will once again rely on the awesome shooting prowess of left back Jenny Alm, who scored a game-high nine goals against Vardar.   

These two teams have never met in the Champions League, which should make their potentially balanced doubleheader all the more exciting.
 
Group 2
Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) vs RK Krim Mercator (SLO)   
Sunday 18.00 local time in Györ, live on ehfTV

Defending champions Györ got their title defence on track with last weekend’s comfortable win at Larvik after a fortuitous home draw against Buducnost, as the team fired on all cylinders against the Norwegians.

If the current form of both teams is anything to go by, the holders should have a fairly straightforward task of collecting two points against Krim, whose porous defence leaked goals from all angles against Buducnost last weekend.

Györ geared up for the contest with a 34:24 Hungarian league win over ETV Érdi-VSE, with Anita Görbicz scoring a game-high six goals while Heidi Loke and Aniko Kovacsics chipped in with five each.

Krim, on the other hand, were left picking up the pieces after a shambolic performance at Buducnost resulting in a crushing a 30:15 defeat. Their top scorer in Podgorica Barbara Lazovic-Varlec acknowledged the Slovenian champions needed to move along in order to avoid another shipwreck against the Champions League favourites.

“Györ are the best team in the competition and what we have to do is forget the game in Podgorica as soon as possible, keep our heads up and produce a much better performance in Györ,” Lazovic told a press conference in Ljubljana.

“We have to reward our fans for their loyalty and support,” she added.

German playmaker Nina Wörz stressed Krim had to raise their game to the highest limits to have any hope of avoiding defeat in Hungary. “We must learn from our mistakes and improve in all departments, while we also have to hope that Györ have an off-day in order to get a result,” she said.

“Apart from that, we have to produce our best performance of the season and hope it’s enough. Györ are the favourites but surprises happen every once in a while. Either way, the reverse fixture against Györ in Ljubljana will be crucial.”

Krim will also want to avoid looking at the history of their Champions League fixtures with Györ, having managed only three draws in 10 meetings with the Hungarian side.

Buducnost (MNE) vs Larvik (NOR)
Sunday 20.00 local time in Podgorica, live on ehfTV

Having seen his team demolish Krim with a vintage performance akin to those which heralded the 2012 Champions League title, Buducnost coach Dragan Adzic now has a tough task of making sure that the high-flying Montenegrin giants keep their feet on the ground.

The outcome of the doubleheader against Larvik, who are bottom of the group with no points from two games, will in all likelihood be decisive for Buducnost’s hopes of reaching the FINAL4 after two magnificent performances in the Main Round.

“We will not become complacent because we play up to our potentials only when we are 100 percent committed,” Adzic told reporters ahead of the home game against the Norwegian powerhouse.

“I expect an extremely difficult match despite Larvik’s performances in the opening two games because they are a very experienced team who have beaten us on home court before,” he said.

“We want to have a clear path to Budapest after the two games against Larvik and we are confident that we can pave our way to the FINAL4 although it’s not going to be an easy task.”

Line player Suzana Lazovic, who signed a two-year contract extension with the club earlier this week, added: “The win against Krim is history and with the kind of fan support we had in that game, I believe we will beat Larvik too.”

Larvik tuned up for the daunting trip to Montenegro with a 37:19 Norwegian league win against Vipers Kristiansand, delighting their coach Ole Gustav Gjekstad with a smooth display.

“Of course we face a much more difficult game in Montenegro, but it was good to see that we are getting sharper in converting our fast breaks because that is a trait we will need against Buducnost,” Gjekstad told the club’s official website.

“We ran many different line-ups to take as many positives as we can from this flowing performance,” added Gjekstad, with Tine Stange and Linn Jorum Sulland providing the kind of firepower Larvik will need if they are to come away with anything from the cauldron of Moraca Hall.

Larvik won both games in last season’s Main Round en route to the final against Györ, but Buducnost are a much-improved outfit this term with Cristina Neagu and Camilla Dalby joining their ranks during the summer break.