Record wins for Brest and Porto
The hosts scored a 100% perfect record in Group C’s first matchday. After Chehovskie Medvedi edged a 27:26 win against La Rioja, HC Meshkov Brest and Futebol Club de Porto powered past Vojvodina and TATRAN Presov on Saturday.
Both winners improved drastically their biggest-win records in the VELUX EHF Champions League, as almost all their field players scored at least one goal during the games.
GROUP C
HC Meshkov Brest (BLR) vs. Vojvodina (SRB) 34:22 (15:14)
The maiden VELUX EHF Champions League game could bring any team shivers down the spine. However, it was not the case for Vojvodina, as the Serbian champions made a bright start in Brest. Bojan Todorovic scored the first goal of the match what was also the premiere goal of Vojvodina in the continent's best competition.
While the Belarusian side had an amazing attack in the first half, with a shot efficiency of over 80%, Vojvodina answered with an almost flawless last five-minute performance (15:14).
But the second half was a whole other state of affairs. Brest’s experience and depth worked wonders. Sooner rather than later, after only 10 minutes in the second part, the Belarusian side was already leading by a seven-goal margin, 23:16.
A stellar performance of Alexei Rastvortsev, Vojvodina’s top scorer with seven goals, did not bring the expected results. 12 of Brest’s 16 players scored at least a goal and the lead grew until the end, with a 34:22 positive outcome for the hosts.
Dainis Kristopans, Rastko Stojkovic and Ljubo Vukic were the hosts’ top scorers, with five goals apiece, as Brest enjoyed their biggest-ever win in the European top flight competition, a six-goal improvement against the previous record, recorded against Wisla Plock and HC Bosna Sarajevo.
"We played well only in the first half of the match. Our team lacks enough experience of games at such a level. We lost so many balls at the beginning of the second half and had to pay for it," Rastvortsev explained.
"The way how Vojvodina looked on video and what they showed here in the first half were completely different. In the first half we were struggling with them and did not play good. During the break our coach calmed us down and we changed the tactics a bit," Kristopans said.
Futebol Club de Porto (POR) vs. Tatran Presov (SVK) 33:23 (14:11)
Presov will have to wait at least one more week to break their winless streak in the European premium competition. The Slovakian champions, who last won in November 2008, against RK Crvena Zvezda Beograd, had little response to what Porto brought to the table.
The Portuguese side, making their comeback after a one-year hiatus in the competition, controlled the game for all its 60 minutes, taking an early lead, 12:8, after 20 minutes.
With Yoel Cuni Morales in perfect form as the Cuban back scored from all his six shots, Porto never looked back. A balanced layout of the offensive duties was the main theme for the hosts, as all but one of the field players managed to score at least one goal.
As Tatran faded, Porto continued to power to their greatest-ever win in the VELUX EHF Champions League, a 33:23 scoreline that improved drastically the three-goal win against KIF Kolding Kobenhavn from November 2013.
TEXT: Adrian Costeiu / br
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