After a surprising defeat at RK Krim Mercator last week, CSKA needed a strong comeback at home to reach the DELO EHF Champions League quarter-finals.

It was a very tough match, but the Russian side reached their goal, winning 27:21, while Krim missed an opportunity to reach their first quarter-final since the 2012/13 season by just one goal.

PLAY-OFF, SECOND LEG
CSKA (RUS) vs RK Krim Mercator (SLO) 27:21 (14:11)
First leg: 20:25, CSKA won 47:46 on aggregate

• led by Antonina Skorobogatchenko and Polina Vedekhina in attack, CSKA took early control of the game
• Krim stabilised the game and cut the deficit to three goals at half-time, as Matea Pletikosic scored five goals before the break
• with 66 seconds to go, Pletikosic scored her sixth goal in the game to make the score 27:21, and one more goal would have seen Krim through
• CSKA’s goalkeeper Anna Sedoykina, who entered the court in the second half, recorded seven saves for a 47 per cent save rate
• her Krim counterpart Jovana Risovic, who made 26 saves in the first match, now made 11

CSKA inspired by return of key players

In Ljubljana, CSKA were badly missing their key back court players Darya Dmitrieva and Polina Vedekhina, sidelined by injuries. Now both Russia national team players were back in action and contributed to their team’s win a lot, combining for 12 goals.

While Vedekhina scored four of her five goals in the first half, Dmitrieva was dominant in the crucial phase of the game, netting five times in the last 11 minutes.

Post-match quotes

Uros Bregar, Krim Mercator coach: "It’s very difficult to play with CSKA, especially away. But I underline that I am proud of my girls. CSKA deserved the ticket to quarter-final."

Jan Leslie, CSKA coach: "Krim did a great job and these were two great games. In the first game we had big problems. We used a lot of time this week for finding individual solutions for the opposing players. We also trained in the attack a lot. We knew that we can pass and shoot much better than in the first match. My players showed a good attitude during the match."

Samara Da Silva Viera, Krim Mercator left back: "In games like this you should fight till the end if you want to win. We had a great game at home but today we lost our system and made too many mistakes. Still, I am proud of my team. We showed that we can fight with a big team like CSKA."

Kathrine Heindahl, CSKA line player: "It was a big fight during all 60 minutes. I am very happy that we advanced to the next stage. Before the match we knew that we needed to win by six and more goals and would need to be stronger like a team. In the end we managed to play on a high level."