Substantial revenge for Hamburg, Melsungen close to quarter-finals
With a 36:26 win at home against Halsum Handballklubb in Group A, HSV Hamburg have revenged their 34:32 away defeat to the Norwegian champions last weekend in style.
In Group C, Futebol Clube do Porto doubled their number of points winning 29:23 at home against HC Vojvodina, and in Group D the digits were the same as MT Melsungen are creeping close to the quarter-finals by defeat Balatonfüredi KSE at home.
Men’s EHF Cup group phase
Group A
HSV Hamburg (GER) vs Haslum Handballklubb (NOR) 36:26 (17:8)
Hamburg got a substantial revenge for their 34:32 defeat in Norway last weekend, as they came out on top against Haslum in front of 1623 spectators in the Sporthalle Hamburg Saturday afternoon.
The ten goal difference at the end did not even show how big the gulf was between these two teams, as Hamburg were leading by 16 goals, before the visitors were allowed to reduce the gap at bit.
The gap was only reduced because Hamburg coach Jens Häusler started to gave match time to his substitutes towards the end.
Hamburg opened with a 3:0 lead, and as the home team went from 12:8 to 17:8 in the last minutes of the first half - with this the match was practically decided.
In the second half, the hosts had their biggest leads at 27:11 and 28:12, before the Norwegian champions managed to close the gap somewhat.
“Today our defence and a brilliant Jogi (Johannes) Bitter in goal were brilliant. That was the base for our success. Each and everyone took care of their tasks today,” said Hamburg coach Jens Häusler.
The German outfit now top the group with six points.
Group C
Futebol Clube do Porto (POR) vs HC Vojvodina (SRB) 29:23 (13:12)
Porto kept their quarter-final hopes alive, as they defeated HC Vojvodina for the second time within a week, this time with a clear six-goal win in front of 1401 spectators in the Dragao Caixa.
However, Vojvodina shocked the hosts at the start, and after four minutes and 26 seconds, a Porto timeout was considered necessary, as the visitors were leading 4:0.
Porto managed to stabilise their game, but it took them up until the 24 minute to equalise at 9:9.
Three minutes later, the home team got their first lead at 11:10, and one goal was also the difference after 30 minutes.
In the second half, Porto seemed to the game beyond doubt as they went ahead 23:18.
However, a man-to-man defence against Porto’s left back Gilberot Duate brought the Serbian champions within two, before Porto threw on for the win.
Porto are now joint on four points with Füchse Berlin, however, the German side have a game in hand.
Group D
MT Melsungen (GER) vs Balatonfüredi KSE (HUN) 29:23 (16:11)
Melsungen took their fourth win out of four in Group D and are extremely close to the quarter-final, as they defeated Balatonfüredi in the Rothenbach-Halle 29:23 in Kassel Saturday night.
Melsungen took the initiative from the start, taking a three-goal lead, which was soon increased, to seven goals, before the home team could book a reassuring 16:11 lead at half-time.
In the second half, Melsungen went up by seven goals again several times, before the visitors were allowed to reduce the deficit a bit towards the end.
Melsungen are now leading the group clearly with eight points from four matches. Balatonfüredi are last with one point.
TEXT: Peter Bruun / bc
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