Veszprém too strong for the Ukrainian champions

MVM Veszprém beat HC Moror Zaporozhye in the first leg of the VELUX Champions League Last 16 away in Brovary.

The return leg will take place on 26 March in Veszprém.

HC Motor Zaporozhye (UKR) vs MVM Veszprém (HUN) 24:29 (12:12)


For Motor Zaporozhye, it was already an achievement making it to the Last 16.

However, the team coached by Mykola Stepanets wanted to upset the Hungarian side in the first leg in Brovary.

But the Hungarian powerhouse proved to be too strong for them.

The host team should be given credit for fighting hard.

Especially in the first half when their goalkeeper Valentyn Koshovy played really well.

His brilliant saves helped Motor to stay in the game, and they were never behind by more than two goals during this period which ended in a draw, 12:12.

Still, it was hard for Motor’s attack to find gaps against the strong defense of the Hungarian team.

And on the opposite side of the court, Veszprém’s Aron Palmarsson, Momir Ilic and their teammates were regularly finding the net.

When Veszprém were leading 9:6, it seemed like they would not give away the initiative.

Still, after a few minutes Motor managed to make a comeback, mainly thanks to the impressive performance by their Russian line player Gleb Kalarash.

As Veszprém pushed forward, the host team always managed to draw level.

And before the break, they came back again from 10:12 to make it 12:12.

The Ukrainian side needed a home win in order to retain realistic hopes of progressing.

However, in the second half Veszprém’s dominance became more obvious.

The guests immediately took the lead and did not let their opponents draw level.

The gap between the side was constantly growing and reached four goals right in the middle of the half when they converted a penalty (24:19).

This advantage let Veszprém players feel secure, and desperate Motor’s attempts to come closer were not successful; the Hungarian outfit had no problem in clinching the victory.

It was not the best day for Barys Pukhouski - Motor’s top scorer in the VELUX Champions League.

The Belarusian playmaker scored only one goal out of six attempts.

Igor Soroka was the top scorer for Motor with seven goals, while Gasper Marguc and Renato Sulic each scored five times for the winning side.