Everything open in Scandinavian derby

Another team joined the list for the Men's EHF Cup Qualifying Round 3 last weekend as Elverum HH won 65:52 in the double header on home court against Maccabi Rishon Lazion from Israel.

Elverum made things more or less clear already in the first leg Saturday which they won 36:28. That win was then followed by a 29:24 in the second match Sunday.

Remaining teams will be confirmed by next Sunday (19 October) and the draw of the last qualifying round before the group phase will take place on Tuesday 21 October at the EHF Office in Vienna.

Everything is still open in the Scandinavian encounter between Eskilstuna Guif from Sweden and the European debutants SonderjyskE from Denmark.

In a close first leg in the Eskilstuna Sporthall, where the hosts had a narrow lead most of the time, Eskilstuna could book a just as narrow win, 29:27.

This result obviously leaves the Danish outfit with a good chance to qualify for the next round, before the two teams meet again in Sonderborg next Sunday.

“We missed some opportunities, and our level may have dropped two or three per cent. That is not going to happen in Skansen” (SonderjyskE's home ground) SonderjyskE coach Morten Henriksen told the newspaper JydskeVestkysten.

Last season, Sporting Clube de Portugal reached the quarter-final of the EHF Cup, and so far the Portuguese club seems to be heading for at least Qualification Round 3.

A convincing 34:24 at home against HC Sporta Hlohovec, who were in the group phase last season brought Sporting close to the next round. With 12 goals, left wing Pedro Solha made his solid contribution to the big win.

Team Tvis Holstebro were not in the EHF Cup last year, but in the 2012/13 season – the first time the tournament was played under its current format – the Danish team reached the EHF Cup Finals and finished third in the competition.

The chance of a remake of that achievement still exists after Holstebro's 35:23 win at home against HC Kriens-Luzern Sunday.

“We won clearly and got the lead we wanted to take with us to the return match, although we make a half way dubious effort. However, I am pleased that we got our attacking defence work, and that we got the easy counter goals,” Team Tvis Holstebro coach Klavs Bruun Jörgensen told his club's website.

Skjern Handbold were not happy with their performance in the EHF Cup last year, when the Danish team finished third in their group. They seem to still have the chance to make it better this year after a convincing 36:27 win in Austria against Bregenz Handball.

The first half was even, but the last 30 minutes belonged completely to the visitors.

“We played a good first half, but in the first quarter of an hour we could not find a way to open the strong Danish defence,” Bregenz coach Markus Rinnerthaler told his club's website.

“Their level was hard to just from the videos we had on them, but as it turned out, we were considerably better than them, and they were obviously not used to playing at as high a pace as us over 60 minutes,” Skjern coach Ole Norgaard told skjernhaandbold.dk.

Find the results of the Men's EHF Cup Round 2 here

More pictures from the last weekend action:

Talent Plzen vs Permskie Medvedi

Branik Maribor vs IFK Kristianstad

Hubo Initia Hasselt vs Oroszhazi FKSE-Linamar

SKA Minsk vs Gornik Zabrze

Pfadi Winterthur vs RK Zeleznicar 1949 Nis