FTC through to main round

On Saturday, HC Vardar became the first team from Group B to advance to the main round of the European top flight.

One day later, their example was followed by FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, after their confident victory over HC Leipzig in Germany. Similar to the Macedonian champions, FTC now have seven points after four matches.

• FTC–Rail Cargo Hungaria earned their third straight victory and secured a spot in the Women's EHF Champions League Main Round
• HC Leipzig played their first game on home court this season, yet they did not manage to get their first points
• Zita Szucsanszki became FTC’s top scorer with seven goals; Anne Hubinger was the Leipzig’s leading scorer with seven goals

GROUP B

HC Leipzig (GER) vs. FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) 17:30, 8:14

Having lost three away matches in a row, HC Leipzig hoped to finally obtain some points in their first home game in the tournament. This hope was supported by a decent game against FTC in Dabas last week. Leipzig missed a number of key players there and eventually lost, but even their injury-riddled squad fought hard against the Hungarian runner-up.

FTC learned their lesson

This time, Leipzig were better equipped, as Karolina Kudlacz-Gloc and Saskia Lang came back from injuries. Yet, FTC also learned their lesson from the home game and took the opponent very seriously. The visitors seized the initiative from the start, and when they were in lead 6:2, Leipzig’s coach, Norman Rentsch, had to ask for a time out.

The time out seemed to help a little, but only for a while. The hosts slashed the gap to 8:6, but they lacked quality and depth to be on par with the Hungarian side.

Nadine Schatzl and Viktoria Lukacs were dangerous on the wings and in back court, Zita Szucsanszki tore the Leipzig defence apart with her smart moves and powerful shots.

Katja Kramarczyk made some fine saves for the hosts, yet FTC were systematically building on their advantage and led 14:8 at half time.

Clear outcome

In the second half, Leipzig had even fewer chances to turn the game around. Similar to a week before in Dabas, their players began to feel exhausted and made more mistakes, which were punished by the agile FTC players.

As a result, the outcome of the game was clear long before the final whistle. However, the Hungarian side did not slow down and eventually they got a deserved, clear win 30:17.

Two games from the end of the group phase, FTC can be certain of advancing to the Women's EHF Champions League Main Round. Leipzig still have zero points, but they will continue to fight for the third place with Astrakhanochka, as the Russian champions currently have two points.