Rostov secure finals place with home victory

Following a 29:18 home defeat, Metzingen needed a miracle to overcome the huge deficit and reach the final. That did not happen as Rostov won once again, now by a 10-goal margin (31:21)

• Rostov reached the EHF Cup final for the second time – the first was in the 2014/15 season
• Metzingen were finalists last year, but are now eliminated in the semi-final
• Kseniya Makeeva and Viktoriya Borschenko were Rostov’s top scorers with five goals
• Marlene Zapf netted five times for Metzingen

SEMI-FINAL, SECOND LEG

Rostov-Don (RUS) vs TuS Metzingen (GER) 31:21 (14:11)

This second semi-final leg began much like the first leg match in Germany. At home, TuS Metzingen enjoyed a better start and were up 4:2 after 10 minutes. In Rostov, Csaba Konkoly's team went in front with the same score after seven minutes.

However – as in the first leg - their hopes were soon dashed by the hosts who needed just three minutes to score four unanswered goals and make it 6:4. Midway through the half, Rostov-Don enjoyed a comfortable 9:5 advantage.

Metzingen fought hard, and the visitors reduced the deficit to 12:11 four minutes from half time. Yet Ana Paula Rodrigues and Siraba Dembele then scored, Galina Mekhdieva saved a penalty shot from Luka Sekercses – and Rostov led by three goals at the break, just like last week.

Domination by Rostov

With just 32 per cent attack efficiency, Rostov probably did not show their best handball in this game. Yet their powerful attack left Metzingen no chances as six of the hosts’ players scored four or more goals.

The Russian side dominated even more in the second half and reached a double-digit lead in the 53rd minute (28:18). That difference remained unchanged at the final buzzer as Rostov celebrated advancing to the final.

They are likely to meet another German team there. SG BBM Bietigheim also have a 11-goal advantage over NFH-Nykobing Falster Handboldclub after the first leg, and are expected to confirm their superiority on Sunday.

More improvement to be found

Rostov's head coach Frédéric Bougeant said his team can still play better.

"Every coach has two goals in every match," he explained. "The first is to show a good game, the second is to get to the next round. Today we managed to get to the final of EHF Cup, but our team did not show an ideal game. We have to work hard to be in a good shape till the end of the season."

Metzingen coach Konkoly was philosophical about the loss.

"We knew that it would be a hard game, because we lost the first leg," he said. "Anyway, we showed a better result, a better game today. I’m proud of my team. I hope next year we will obtain better results. In this season we managed to get to the semi-final, it’s a good achievement."

Centre back Delaila Amega added: "Today we played better than a week ago. We acted as a team! Unfortunately, in the second half we made too many mistakes, and Rostov-Don was good in fast breaks."