Rampant Buducnost storm into main round

Buducnost, the two-time former winner of the Women’s EHF Champions League, eased into the main round after a 28:19 home win over Thüringer HC, which kept the Montenegrin giants on top of their group with a maximum eight points.

Buducnost thus joined Metz in the business end of Europe’s flagship club competition, after the French side, who are second in the section with six points, beat Norway’s Glassverket 25:19 on Saturday.

• Buducnost earned their seventh win in eight games against Thüringer HC
• Backs Katarina Bulatovic and Cristina Neagu stood out for the home side
• Thüringer HC face decisive clash against Glassverket in the next round in a bid to secure their own progress

GROUP A

Buducnost (MNE) vs Thüringer HC (GER) 28:19, 17:8

Buducnost made light work of their home victory against THC, having completed the double-over their German rivals, after beating them 32:26 in the reverse fixture last weekend.

Thüringer HC scored the game’s opening goal, but from there on, it was one-way traffic as Buducnost moved into the top gear immediately and raced into a 7:3 lead on the back of tremendous shooting by their dynamic backcourt duo of Katarina Bulatovic and Cristina Neagu.

The pair scored a combined tally of 10 goals in the first half, as the home team’s impenetrable defence contained Thüringer HC, whose only beacon of light in the opening period was Meike Schmelzer.

The home team’s nine-goal advantage at the interval was a fair reflection of how the game progressed, with Buducnost making the most of fast breaks and individual talent.

Battling visitors salvage their pride

Thüringer HC avoided a complete rout though, as they kept battling away in the second half to make sure they lost by a somewhat respectable margin at least.

Buducnost, in contrast, eased up their pressure a bit, as coach Dragan Adzic rested many of his regular starters, in order to give bench players more minutes on the court.

The visitors didn't require a second invitation to step up and they slashed the deficit to 22:16 with six minutes left, before Buducnost hit back with four unanswered goals to make sure there was not going to be an astonishing twist in the Moraca Hall.

Bulatovic netted six goals for Buducnost and Neagu added four, as 12 home players scored to underline the depth of a strong roster vying for the club’s third EHF Champions League title.

Schmelzer led Thüringer HC with four goals, but ran out of a steam after a bright start, while Iveta Luzumova and Elena Pintea chipped in with three each.

Said after the game:

Dragan Adzic, Head Coach Buducnost: "I'm proud that we managed to play defence better than we did during the first game in Germany. All this inspires optimism ahead of the upcoming difficult game in Metz, which will be crucial to the first position in the group. We had several players who were doubtful, but all have contributed and it is important that we raise the level of play compared to the previous match."
 
Katarina Bulatovic, Buducnost player: "As we said before the match, the defence needs to be better than in the first game. We played better than in Germany and deserved the win. I am happy that all the girls get a chance again and specifically, Vanesa Agovic was great. The support of young players is very important for Buducnost."
 
Herbert Muller, Head Coach Thuringer HC: "Buducnost deserved the victory. I had expected our first half to be better than it was in Germany, but that did not happen. We were not aggressive enough on defence, especially the backs of Buducnost were too strong for us. On the physical and mental level, we were not ready to confront a quality team like the Buducnost."
 
Iveta Luzumova, Thuringer HC player: "We knew that Buducnost is a great team, but our desire was to provide the best and to be the better side than in the first match in front of our fans. Buducnost, however, was a better team and we had a large number of missed shots."