In order to keep their hopes for a berth in the knockout rounds alive, both teams needed to take points in this rescheduled game from round 6 in the European League Men.

Before today’s clash, Metalurg were last in group A with one point while Chekhov were only one point ahead, standing fifth on two points.

GROUP A

Chekhovskie Medvedi (RUS) vs HC Metalurg (MKD) 40:27 (22:11)

• while the first six minutes of the game were tight, one cannot say the same about the rest of the first half. Backed by some nice saves from Dmitry Pavlenko, Chekhov powered offensively. Thanks to a 4:0 run in under five minutes, the Russian side led by eleven at half-time
• Chekhov did not slow down the rhythm after the break, with two of their players scoring eight tonight: Alexander Kotov and Aleksandr Ermakov
• Chekhov move up the rankings, now with four points, they are level with Fivers and Toulouse
• the two sides will meet again in Skopje on 20 February

Metalurg too short-handed to keep the rhythm

Metalurg travelled to Chekhov with only eleven players and it definitely showed on the court as the team from Skopje did not manage to keep up the rhythm.

With only four players really making an impact offensively and scoring more than five goals, it was impossible for the visitors to match Chekhov, especially since the hosts did not slow down after the break.