GROUP B REVIEW: On home court, top-placed Rostov had no problem against Brest and claimed a confident victory, taking seven points to the main round
Rostov claim fourth straight victory
Both Rostov-Don and Brest Bretagne Handball had already secured their Women’s EHF Champions League main round tickets, but the game in Rostov was not meaningless as the teams were fighting for the points to carry over to the next stage.
The Russian champions won 30:24, which means that they will start the main round with seven points, while Brest will take just two points.
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Rostov stay undefeated in group matches
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Brest’s four-game unbeaten run comes to an end
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Anna Vyakhireva and Kseniya Makeeva were Rostov’s best scorers with seven goals apiece
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Ana Gros netted six times for Brest
GROUP B
Rostov-Don (RUS) vs Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) 30:24 (18:12)
Brest’s first-ever point in the continental top-flight league was in the reverse fixture between these two teams in France earlier this season after a 29:29 draw, and that proved to be the only point dropped by Rostov during the group matches after both teams brought their group B campaign to an end in Russia today.
Playing at home the Russian champions were clearly the better team, showing why from the very start with a comfortable 8:3 lead after just 10 minutes.
Brest tried to come back, but Rostov’s Anna Vyakhireva, Iuliia Managarova and particularly Kseniya Makeeva were hard to stop, as the home team led 18:12 at the half-time break.
Mayssa Pessoa also did a good job in Rostov’s goal, and the Russian team’s victory was never in danger in the second half.
Five minutes from full time, the hosts led by double digits (29:19), and although they slowed down in the remaining minutes, Rostov had no problems clinching their fourth straight win as they go into the break strongly, ahead of the main round starting in January.
“We have closed the first chapter of the season and are now in the middle of it, but we are satisfied,” said Ambros Martin, head coach of Rostov-Don. “We have a problem, but a very nice problem as we have three fantastic goalkeepers in our team who do such a great job and support each other - it’s difficult to choose, because there is not enough time in one game for them all.
“Anna Vyakhireva does more than score goals - she makes the moments and that’s the most important [thing].”
For Brest’s coach Laurent Bezeau, he bemoaned the players who were missing as his thoughts turned to the next stage, starting in January.
“We knew that it would be very tough to play in Rostov,” he said. “But we wanted to go there, to play a good game and put pressure on our opponents, but we couldn’t as we have many injured players.
“We tried to stress Rostov, but we could only do this for the last 15 minutes.”
TEXT:
Sergey Nikolaev/amc