Thüringer cruise past Astrakhanochka at home

Both Group 1 underdogs badly needed points to stay in the fight for quarter-final spots. In the end, Thüringer HC earned a deserved victory against Astrakhanochka with a score of 34:22.

• Following this win, THC now have four points in Group 1
• Astrakhanochka suffered their sixth straight defeat in the EHF Champions League and stay on zero points
• Iveta Luzumova was Thüringer’s top scorer with nine points; Karina Sabirova also scored nine for Astrakhanochka

GROUP 1

Thüringer HC (GER) vs Astrakhanochka (RUS) 34:22 (15:9)

In the previous phase, both the German and Russian champions finished third in their groups. While Thüringer carried two points into the main round, Astrakhanochka had zero, so it was essential for both teams to claim some points now.

It was the fourth duel between German and Russian clubs over the weekend. On Saturday, Kuban, Rostov-Don and Handball Club Lada beat HC Leipzig, SG BBM Bietigheim and TuS Metzingen respectively in the EHF Cup.

No real chances for Astrakhanochka

The Women's EHF Champions League match was to be a different story as the German club upheld the reputation of the Bundesliga by emphatically beating the Russian champions.

Last autumn, Astrakhanochka started the group phase by defeating HC Leipzig, but in the Group 1 match against Thüringer HC Mikhail Seregin's team had no real chances to grab points.

The hosts dominated from the very start, allowing the Russian outfit to score just twice in the opening 10 minutes (4:2). Astrakhanochka also struggled in defence, and often stopped their opponents only by committing fouls, which led to a number of warnings and two-minute suspensions.

Thüringer HC benefitted from their rivals' mistakes and went on to increase their lead. The score was 10:6 after 20 minutes and 15:9 at half-time, so the hosts went to the dressing room in high spirits.

Thüringer HC kept up the pressure

Astrakhanochka, who are playing their maiden season in the EHF Champions League, have gained some continental top flight experience during the past months. However the team is still young and have a lot to learn about competing at this level.

So the question was only about the final gap between the teams. Astrakhanochka had some decent spells in the game, at one point reducing the gap from 27:15 to 27:18.

But overall the hosts continued to dominate and gained two points with their deserved victory.