Logroño La Rioja lost their first EHF European League Men encounter this season by 12 goals (31:43), against Savehof and were eager to redeem themselves in their home opener on Tuesday evening.

They performed well against the visiting Slovenian side, with a strong performance in the second half ensuring their first points of the season. The visitors could not get close and remain on zero points in Group C along with PAUC Handball.

Group C
BM Logroño La Rioja (ESP) vs RK Gorenje Velenje (SLO) 31:26 (18:14)

• Gorenje Velenje were the first to take a clear lead (6:3) in the 8th minute, opening it up to 10:6 five minutes later
• Keys for the visitors were good attack combined with strong defence
• Tomas Moreira Rodriguez and Antonio Serradilla Cuenca helped La Rioja to level the game (12:12) in the 21st minute
• Saves from Aliaksandr Markelau ensured the home fans were happy at the break with their side leading 18:14
• Slovenian team came close in second half with saves from Emir Taletovic and goals by Jernej Drobez and Ibrahim Haseljic (17:18, 22:24) but strong finish by the Spanish side ensured two points

Combination for the win

Handball is a team sport with individuals playing together to make a good mixture. Tonight’s perfect La Rioja recipe saw of spoonful of goalkeeper magic, sprinkle of line player toughness and large portion of centre back precision.

Aliaksandr Markelau was on point in crucial moments with 12 saves for the home side, while Tomas Moreira Rodriguez (7 goals) and Augustin Casado Marcelo (5), ensured the goals flowed down the other end of the court, two of Marcelo’s goals coming in the last 10 minutes.