Chambery open Men’s EHF Cup Group Phase with big win

French side Chambery Savoie Handball got off to a perfect start in the Men’s EHF Cup group phase, as they defeated Swedish side Ystads IF 32:22 at home.

Men's EHF Cup Group D

Chambery Savoie Handball (FRA) vs Ystads IF (SWE) 32:22 (16:11)

The Scandinavian side were already down from full strength before the game had started as they were missing their talented left back Lukas Nilsson after the 19-year-old Swedish international had to stay back home in Sweden due to stomach problems.

His absence was an obvious disadvantage to the visitors in Le Phare in Chambery as the experienced Kim Andersson did his best to lead Ystad´s attacking pace, but the guests had constant trouble against the aggressive Chambery defence and their own defence was no match for the French attack.

Chambery’s fast and versatile attacking play was generally too big a challenge for Ystad who only led once in the match and that was right at the very beginning, 2:1.

From that moment on Chambery took the initiative and after a number of two-goal leads, the home team eventually increased the gap - to five goals - in the last quarter of an hour before the half-time break.

Ystad seemed to be heading for a comeback as they managed to reduce the deficit to two goals at 18:16, but with four goals in a row, Chambery soon got six goals up again, and with the home crowd creating an impressive atmosphere in the arena, the hosts increased their lead to 10 goals, which they saw through to the final buzzer.

Photo: www.chamberysavoiehandball.com