Dinamo survive Thun threat to stay in Group D contention

Riihimäen Cocks and Wacker Thun are still on the hunt for their first VELUX EHF Champions League wins, but their latest attempts could not have been more different.

Cocks’ trip to Poland will be put down as a lesson learned as the Finnish side experienced a heavy defeat to Plock, who are proving to be the exceptional side in Group D.

Just two points behind in second place lie Dinamo Bucuresti, who just about came out on the right end of a 69-goal thriller against a fearless Wacker Thun.

GROUP D
Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU) vs Wacker Thun (SUI) 35:34 (19:14)

Wacker did their best to dampen the spirits of a raucous Dinamo crowd by taking a 9:5 lead after 11 minutes and all of a sudden the prospect of picking up that elusive first victory was realistic.

However, the home side eventually sorted their defence and went on to turn the match around dramatically.

The likes of Amine Bannour and Andrei Negru found the back of the net with ease as Bucharest stormed into a 19:14 lead at the break, taking full advantage of a number of two-minute suspensions for Wacker.

Thun were not deterred by the five-goal deficit and came out motivated in the second half, scoring 10 goals in as many minutes, but their leaky defence allowed Dinamo to keep their noses in front, 26:24.

The Romanian side extended their lead again but were unable to stop the Swiss waves of attack as they did in the first period and their lead never really felt safe.

Wacker got to within two goals on a number of occasions, but when they finally narrowed Dinamo’s lead to 35:34, just seconds remained on the clock and that is how it ended.

Remo Badertscher was proud of his side's efforts in defeat, "For us it was a tough game, but we did it very well. I am really proud of my guys for what they did today. For us it was something new, with this beautiful crowd, with the sounds, for us it was a big thing. With a little bit more chance, we could have won this game."

Amine Bannour found the net nine times for Dinamo, who move on to four points in Group D, while Ron Delhees’ 10-goal haul could not bring Thun over the line as they still wait for their first win at this level.

Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) vs Riihimäen Cocks (FIN) 34:18 (16:10)

After positive results in their opening two matches against Leon and Thun, emulating those performances away to Plock was always going to be a big ask for a Cocks side in their debut season in Europe’s top flight.

The Finnish champions took an early 3:2 lead, but that was about as good as it got for them this evening.

Plock scored regularly and with ease throughout the first half, while nullifying Cocks’ main attacking threat – Nico Rönnberg, who failed to add to his 15 goals so far this season.

Trailing 16:10 at half-time, Riihimäki tried to up their attacking pace in the second half, which resulted to a number of turnovers and simple fast break goals for the hosts.

Although the game was over as a contest once Plock’s lead reached double figures, both sides played at a high-tempo and showed glimpses of brilliant handball throughout the second half, with the likes of Jose De Toledo (eight goals) and Igor Zabic (seven) enjoying a field day in front of goal for the hosts.

Captain Teemu Taaminen blamed his team's discipline on the heavy loss, "When you make 24 technical fouls, there is no chance to win any game." He, though, top scored with six for Cocks, who suffer their first defeat of the season in Europe. The 16-goal win is Plock’s biggest of the season so far as the hold on to a perfect winning record and hold a two point lead at the top of Group D.

"The key to our victory with such a difference was our defense." Plock coach Xavi Sabate concluded. "Some players played on their top level. We recovered many balls, and our wing players had many chances to score after fast breaks.