It was a tough piece of work but Telekom Veszprém HC got the job done to beat HC Motor in the opener of round 12 on Wednesday night.

The match was an equal affair until the final minutes, when the hosts powered on to take their eighth group phase victory in twelve matches, condemning Motor to their second straight loss in 2021.

GROUP B

Telekom Veszprém HC (HUN) vs HC Motor (UKR) 34:30 (17:17)

• Veszprém extended the gap between them and their rivals for second place to five points
• after six wins in a row, Motor have lost twice to begin 2021
• after the hosts had started in express mode (7:4), Motor managed to bridge the gap and levelled the result at 12:12 for the first time
• in the initial stages of the second half, Motor were driven on by strong goalkeeper Gennadiy Komok (12 saves in total) to take the lead
• the match was on a knife-edge until two goals from Swedish line player Andreas Nilsson and a string of saves by Vladimir Cupara sealed the win

Two left-handed aces crucial for Veszprém

The right attacking side definitely was the key to Veszprém’s success against Motor. While left wings Strlek and Manaskov only scored three goals in total and their left backs Nenadic (2) and Borozan (0) could not shine as usual, the left-handed stars were on a high.

Spanish veteran Jorge Maqueda enjoyed a season-high of ten goals, while right wing Gasper Marguc added eight to deliver a win for David Davis’ men.