Powerful offensive trio drives Zagreb to victory

As triumphant as their win in Nantes was, Flensburg were surprised by Zagreb (31:29 home defeat) as Round 2 of the VELUX EHF Champions League Group Phase got underway on Wednesday.

A four-goal deficit in the first half rang the first alarm bell, but a second momentum at the start of the second half gave Zagreb the decisive lead for their first two points of the 2018/19 season.

• First time since group phase of CL 2010/11 that Zagreb score points in Germany

• Zagreb’s attacking trio Srsen, Horvat and Mandic combine to score 21 goals

• Right wing Lasse Svan leads with seven goals for Flensburg-Handewitt

GROUP B:

SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) - HC PPD Zagreb (CRO) 29:31 (16:16)

Despite not having won a single game on a German court for more than seven years, Zagreb started the match in the best manner. With the help of a couple of goalkeeper saves, the Croatian side cruised away.

Scoring a 4:0 series, they were ahead 9:5 after 11 minutes. Zlatko Horvat was firing on all cylinders on his wing, making the most of every fast-break opportunity.

Not too happy with how things were going, the Danish players in Flensburg’s squad took back the reins of the game, and thanks to Rasmus Lauge Schmidt and Lasse Svan, Flensburg were back in the game at half-time (16:16).

But just like in the first half, Zagreb came out of the dressing room on fire. Right back Ivan Srsen scored three to give his team a three-goal advantage again, forcing coach Maik Machulla to take a timeout.

It didn’t change much, though, as Zagreb carried on at the same pace. A tough defence combined with offensive efficiency gave the Croatian side a five-goal advantage going into the final 10 minutes.

Pushed by their home crowd, Flensburg-Handewitt reduced the deficit again but the visitors were able to retain an advantage of two goals until the end.