SEVILLA SECURE DRAMATIC GOLD TO CLINCH BEACH DOUBLE
A goal in the dying moments of the second period followed by success in the shootout ensured Pinturas Andalucía BM Playa Sevilla won gold in a dramatic men’s Champions Cup final.
Three-time Champions Cup champions Ekaterinodar Krasnodar were within touching distance of a fourth title with the score in the second period 11:10 in the Russians’ favour.
However, Rui Rodrigues had other ideas and, with the clocking ticking towards the 10-minute mark, the Sevilla number-8’s 360-shot hit the back of the net to spark wild celebrations in the crowd and take the final to a shootout.
The Spanish side took charge of the shootout when Ekaterinodar’s Egor Kochura was penalised for a foul which gave Sevilla a 4:1 advantage.
With the Russians desperate to stay in the contention for gold, Roman Kalashnikov needed to find the target to keep Ekaterinodar’s hopes of gold alive. However, the Russian star saw his shot saved by Sevilla’s Roberto Mateo Sanchez.
Victory for Sevilla crowned a fantastic season for Alfonso Rodriguez’s side as they celebrated a beach double having taken the ebt Finals title earlier in the summer.
A delighted defender Javier Holst Ariaudo told eurohandball.com afterwards: “It was crazy, we were missing a lot of shots in the second period but we were confident with our defence that we would have an opportunity to score that last goal like we did.
“The level of beach handball is very high in Europe and playing Russia we knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
“We were a little nervous in the first set but after the second we knew we would have the chances and were confident after taking the match to a shootout.
“It’s been a good season – all we want to do now is keep working hard so we can be here again.”
For Ekaterinodar, appearing in their sixth Champions Cup final, the result meant they earned a third silver medal in the competition to add to their three golds won in 2014, 2015 and 2017.
In the bronze medal match, Team Tchatcheur by PAUC secured third place on the podium. The side from France beat BHC Beach & Da Gang Münster 24:8, 21:18 with Nicolas Desbonnet impressing with 15 points.
All-Star awards:
Top scorer: Benjamin Szilagy (HIR-SAT BHC) – 101 points
Best goalkeeper: Roberto Mateo Sanchez (Sevilla)
Best defender: Evgeny Svestula – (Ekaterinodar)
MVP: Simon Moss (Rodby)
Fair Play Award: HIR-SAT BHC
TEXT:
EHF/ab