First ever group phase win for Eskilstuna

Eskilstuna Guif recorded their first ever win in a Men’s EHF Cup Group Phase match when they defeated RK Nexe 33:24 in Group D Sunday.

In Group C, Füchse Berlin took number one spot on the table, avenging their defeat at the hands of Skjern Handbold last weekend with a 29:24 win in the reverse fixture.

Gorenje Velenje took a major step towards the quarter-finals courtesy of a 30:26 win against Pfadi Winterthur in Group A, while HCM Constanta can still hope for the last eight after a 28:27 win at home against Fraikin BM. Granollers in Group B.

GROUP A
Gorenje Velenje (SLO) vs Pfadi Winterthur (SUI) 30:26 (15:11)

Gorenje Velenje are now alongside HSV Hamburg on top of Group A thanks to another win against Pfadi Winterthur.

Compared with their last meeting, when the Slovenian team won by nine goals in Switzerland, the goal difference was remarkably smaller on Sunday.

Still, Velenje had the game under control through almost the entire 60 minutes in the Rdeca Dvorana.

In the first half the home team were leading by five goals several times, and after the break the distance was always between three and five goals.

While Velenje and Hamburg both have six points and lead the group, Winterthur still only have the two points they won away against Haslum in their first group phase match.

GROUP B
HCM Constanta (ROU) vs Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP) 28:27 (14:11)

Constanta can still hope for the quarter-finals after they won their first two points of the group phase, defeating Granollers narrowly in their Sunday morning game at home.

After an equal start with the lead alternating between teams, Constanta took the upper hand from the middle of the first half, scoring four goals in a row and changing a 5:6 deficit to a 9:6 lead.

For the rest of the first half the home team were leading by two or three goals, but it only took Granollers five minutes when the second half began to even the score at 15:15.

During the rest of the match, both teams held two-goal leads at times, but in the end it was Constanta who changed a 25:27 deficit with three and a half minutes left into a one-goal win.

Constanta now have three points after four matches, while Granollers are still on five.

GROUP C
Füchse Berlin (GER) vs Skjern Hanbold (DEN) 29:24 (14:14)

Füchse took the lead in Group C thanks to their win against Skjern on Sunday, as the Berlin foxes revenged their 32:28 defeat in Denmark last weekend.

Despite missing key player Kasper Sondergaard due to injury, Skjern managed to be in the lead most of the first half in the Max-Schmeling-Halle.

With a level score at half-time the visitors managed to create a two-goal lead more than once in the second half, before the hosts proved to be the better team at the end.

“We played with three right-handed back court players throughout that match, but still we managed to create a lot of opportunities and were able to follow our opponents almost the entire 60 minutes and even be in the lead a lot of the time,” Skjern coach Ole Norgaard said.

Both teams have six points after four matches and are on top of the group.

GROUP D
Eskilstuna Guif (SWE) vs RK Nexe (CRO) 33:24 (17:12)

After two draws in succession, Eskilstuna finally managed to record their first win ever in an EHF Cup group phase – and when they won, they did it in style.

The Swedish team were leading by 10 goals several times towards the end of the match in Eskilstuna Sporthall. Ultimately they won by nine, which was more than enough for them to overtake Nexe and claim second position on the group table.

The start was fairly equal, but Eskilstuna soon proved to be the better team, leading by five goals by half-time.

That lead was increased steadily throughout the last 30 minutes with the victory never really in question.

With four points, Eskilstuna are now second in Group D; one point ahead of Nexe in third position.

“We did great in defence and brilliantly in our attacking play. This was our best performance in a long time,” Eskilstuna coach Kristjan Andresson told the website of the Swedish Handball Federation.