Cocks grab first win in new arena

Finnish side Cocks celebrated their first win of the VELUX EHF Champions League season with a 29:27 victory over Tatran Presov on Wednesday night.

Heading into the game, both sides were in search of their first points of the campaign and the tussle went right down to the wire.

• A combined 14 goals from Nico Rönnberg and Teemu Tamminen inspired Cocks to victory

• Presov had the brighter start, but a 7:0 run from the hosts turned the game on its head late in the first half

• Cocks’ victory is their first of the season and their first official win in their new home arena

• this is Presov’s third straight defeat and they have now already lost as many matches as they did in the group phase last season

GROUP C

Cocks (FIN) vs Tatran Presov (SVK) 29:27 (15:12)

Javier Munoz was in flying form from the opening whistle, with three goals in the opening 10 minutes helping Presov to an early 6:4 lead.

However, the game quickly turned on its head as Cocks’ aggressive defence kept their visitors at bay for almost 10 minutes, while their attack scored a number of easy goals on a 7:0 run.

They earned a five-goal lead at one stage and although the Slovakian side bounced back eventually, Cocks held a 15:12 lead at the break.

.@HT_TatranPresov's Roman Tsarapkin certainly does not crack under pressure against the @RiihimakiCocks defence… #veluxehfcl #ehfcl pic.twitter.com/21tuoOJSrm

— EHF Champions League (@ehfcl) September 25, 2019

Teemu Tamminen and Nico Rönnberg picked up the pace for Cocks once again in the second half, extending their lead to 19:13 and the situation looked desperate for the guests.

But they used their experience to slowly work their way back into contention and they looked to be on the verge of an incredible comeback when they drew level, 26:26, then took the lead through Munoz, who top scored with nine goals.

Cocks would not be denied, however, and a quickfire double from captain Tamminen turned the tables once more, before Vitalie Nenita put the result beyond doubt in the final minute, handing his side a 29:27 win.

Cocks Head Coach Gintraras Savukynas was pleased with how his team "came back after a very difficult game in Spain just a few days before" and how his players would "fight and believe in ourselves" as they took the important victory.