Buducnost through to quarter-final after narrowly beating THC

With one round of matches to go, all four quarter-finalists from Group 2 are already determined. While Vardar, Metz and FTC had all secured their progression before, Buducnost did the same now following a hard-fought away victory against Thüringer HC, 25:24. The Montenegrin champions will finish fourth in the group and will face the Group 1 winners in the quarter-finals.

• Buducnost claimed their first points away from home this season
• Thüringer’s Anika Niederwieser was top scorer of the game with seven goals
• Buducnost will host Vardar next week; THC will play at Metz

GROUP 2

Thüringer HC (GER) vs Buducnost (MNE) 24:25 (11:12)

THC could go level on points with Buducnost in case of a victory, and although the Montenegrin side had clearly won in the reverse fixture (29:21), the German side were determined to stay in the fight and did their best since the opening minute.

Although Buducnost were overall dominant before the break, the home team looked solid and enjoyed a few good spells.

THC were a bit unlucky as they hit the post quite a few times, yet when the competition’s top scorer Iveta Luzumova equalised at 11:11 only 15 second from half-time, it looked like the rivals would be level at the break.

However, Milena Raicevic scored her first goal in the game just before the buzzer, giving Buducnost the half-time lead.

The visitors pulled clear at 19:15 by 37 minutes, yet then Buducnost could not score for nine minutes, allowing the home side, who opted to play seven-against-six in attack, to cut the deficit to 19:18.

Luzumova left the court injured midway through the second half, but Anika Niederwieser made up for that loss, ending up as the game’s top scorer with seven goals.

Yet Buducnost, who had lost all their previous away matches in the current European season, ultimately deserved to grab two points on the road.
At 25:24, Niederwieser had the last chance to secure a draw for THC from a free throw already after the buzzer, yet she failed to score and made the Montenegrin team celebrate.