FTC hand Bietigheim first loss

After a painful loss in the first round against CSM, FTC bounced back with their second win in a row, to climb to the second place in Group D.

There is now no undefeated team in the group, as CSM and FTC are neck and neck at the top of the group.

• Nerea Pena and Noemi Hafra scored seven times each
• Former FTC back Laura van der Heijden scored five goals for Bietigheim, but could not help them avoid defeat
• The two sides will meet again in Budapest in two weeks’ time

GROUP D
SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) vs FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) 25:28 (14:13) 

There were five goals in first five minutes for FTC, as the German side could not cope with the guests’ attacking prowess.

But a 5:0 run from Bietigheim, spurred by former FTC player Laura van der Heijden turned the game on its head, with the hosts taking a 8:5 lead.

Powered by another excellent Aniko Kovacsics run, FTC tied the game at 10:10 as the two teams entered a cat and mouse game.

However, the turning point of the game was a 9:3 run at the start of the second half for FTC, when the Hungarian offense was again unstoppable.

There was no turning back for Bietigheim, who could not halt Nerea Pena and Noemi Hafra in the second half and saw their unbeaten start to the season grind to a halt.