Rostov-Don, who had already secured a play-off berth and are now aiming to seal a quarter-final spot, secured their eighth win of the season, 30:20, against Buducnost BEMAX.

As a result, the Montenegrin side are now out of contention after conceding a record number of losses this season, 10, with seven points separating them from the sixth place with only three games to go.

GROUP A
Rostov-Don (RUS) vs Buducnost BEMAX (MNE) 30:20 (12:9)

• preventing Buducnost to score for seven minutes and 26 seconds, Rostov produce a 4:0 run in the first half, one which was bettered in the second half, when wings Iuliia Managarova and Kristina Kozhokar scored three goals each in a 10-goal unanswered run
• boasting once again the defence which conceded the lowest amount of goals in the DELO EHF Champions League this season, 23.9 per game, Rostov limited Buducnost to only 20 goals in the game
• veteran back player Viktoriya Borschenko scored the 2,500th goal in the DELO EHF Champions League for Rostov-Don, with the Russian side becoming only the 14th team in history to reach this milestone
• Rostov flirted once again to break the lowest number of goals conceded in a single game in the competition, 18, as the Russian time conceded 20 goals or less for third time in this season
• the Montenegrin side, who won only one of their first 11 games this season, are now the first team to be officially out of contention for a play-off berth, with a seven-point gap behind sixth place Dortmund, with only three games left in the preliminary round

Rostov hand Buducnost another painful lesson

Too inexperienced and lacking the poise and grit needed for a DELO EHF Champions League, this has been a season to forget for Buducnost BEMAX. The team with the largest-ever number of games played in the European premium competition, 287, and the second consecutive with at least 10 losses. The Montenegrin side had little to show in a game in which Rostov-Don proved once again their defensive prowess.

On the other hand, the Russian side took the lead in the group before the Match of the Week between Team Esbjerg and FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria and, despite their woes earlier this season, they are still looking like one of the teams to beat for the title. Remember, defence wins titles – and Rostov’s is as good as it gets.

Post-match quotes

Per Johansson, Rostov-Don Head coach:

“It's a special feeling for me to play with a team like Buducnost because I was in Montenegro for many years. I am full of respect for what they did to us today. They came here and believed they could do something — they put us in big trouble, especially in attack. They performed like the players of my team who are 10 years older. I’m happy to see these young girls performing on this level. I’m satisfied we could win the game and that I could rotate. For us it was extremely important to show a good performance after the defeat. I’m happy for my team.”

Bojana Popovic, Buducnost BEMAX coach:

“It was a good fight from our side in the first half. We did everything to be so close to these big team. The girls fought with all they have right now. In the second half we started to make technical mistakes and Rostov-Don ran to the counter-attacks and scored some easy goals. In the last 10 minutes we found the way to score and got the final results. I’m proud of how my team fought.”

Armelle Attingré, Buducnost BEMAX goalkeeper:

“It was a huge fight! We played against Rostov-Don even though they had more matches than us — and we fought. We’re working and trying to improve our handball skills.”

Vladlena Bobrovnikova, Rostov-Don left back:

“We know they are real fighters who are tough to play with. This young team never surrenders and fights till the end. After our loss in Tolyatti we needed this game to get our confidence in attack and in defence.”