FTC not satisfied despite victory

In the reverse Women’s EHF Champions League fixture a month ago, Metz Handball beat FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria at home (27:25). On Saturday afternoon, the Hungarian side took revenge in Dabas, as they recorded a two-goal win of their own (29:27), which pulled them level with Metz in second place on the table.

However, in case the two rivals are still on equal points at the end of main round, Metz will have an advantage on head-to-head results, as they scored more goals away from home.

“I am not happy with losing, but we could score enough goals, so that was perfect for us,” said Metz coach Emmanuel Mayonnade. “I am satisfied with our defence. In the beginning of the match our attack was not good, but later we managed to do what I had wanted.”

• Metz and FTC are now level on 12 points
• Metz’s three-match winning run comes to an end
• FTC’s Nadine Schatzl, Nerea Pena and Aniko Kovacsics top score the game with six goals each
• FTC will play in Bietigheim, while Metz will host THC in the last main round matches

GROUP 2
FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs Metz Handball (FRA) 29:27 (13:9)

Seven and a half minutes into the match, the score was still 0:0 as both sides were cautious and put emphasis on defence. However, once the teams started to find the net, it was to the delight of the home crowd, as FTC took the upper hand and led 5:2 by the 15th minute.

Metz soon improved and slashed the gap to 9:8, yet, thanks to a string of saves from Blanka Biro and Laura van der Heijden’s impact in attack, the home side started to dominate again, leading 13:9 at half-time.

Van der Heijden, who netted five times at 100 per cent in the first half, could not add any more goals to her tally after the break. However, thanks to the effort of her teammates, led by Nadine Schatzl and Aniko Kovacsics, FTC maintained control of the game.

FTC survive late scare

Midway through the second half however, the home side lost Danick Snelder to a red card following three two-minutes suspensions. With 10 minutes remaining FTC were comfortably in front, 23:18, before they started to struggle in attack, while Metz’s defence lived up to its solid reputation.

21 seconds from time, the Hungarian side were in the lead, 28:26, when Laurisa Landre scored for Metz and a tense race to the whistle began. In the end, FTC held on and Dora Hornyak even restored a two-goal gap with a free throw after the buzzer.

The victory did not give FTC much satisfaction as they are likely to remain third in the group, with a home win against THC next week enough to secure Metz second place in the group.