The momentum of the two teams were quite opposite before entering the court: Of their first six games, Meshkov Brest had won three, including all of their home appearances, against Paris, Vardar and Szeged. But the side from Belarus had also managed to come back with the draw from Flensburg in round 7, for the first time in history.

In comparison, after losing in Szeged last week, Elverum were bottom of the group A table with two points. The Norwegian side had not won a game since round 1 – a 30:28 victory in Porto. Since that win, however, a run of four straight losses has followed where they conceded at least 30 goals each time.

GROUP A
HC Meshkov Brest (BLR) vs Elverum Handball (NOR) 29:27 (15:17)

• Despite taking an early three goals lead, Brest did not manage to retain it. Instead they conceded 17 goals in the first half alone, their worst record this season, and were trailing by two goals at half-time.
• The teams traded the lead in the second half, Brest coming out stronger from the dressing rooms but unable to retain the lead until the final 10
• Meshkov won their fourth straight home game in the EHF Champions League Men for the first time
• The team from Belarus remain third in the group while Elverum remain bottom.

Solstad’s red card the turning point

Ten minutes before the end of the game Elverum were up by two and seemed in the perfect position to record their second away win of the season. However with eight minutes left, Thomas Solstad was given his third two-minute suspension and had to leave the court. Without him, the Norwegian side seemed lost. They did not score again until the 59th minute, by which time Brest had taken over.