28.02.2016, 05:10
Larvik claim second spot with a hard-fought win at Fleury

GROUP 1 REVIEW: The Norwegian side's narrow win at Fleury granted Larvik home court advantage for the quarter-finals while Rostov Don defeated struggling Thüringer in the last round

Larvik claim second spot with a hard-fought win at Fleury

Larvik won at Fleury Loiret to claim second spot in Group 1 thanks to their superior record against Ferencváros, who they finished level with.

Rostov Don had to give it their all to beat Thüringer - who played one of their best games of the Main Round.

With these matches concluding the Main Round, teams will now start preparing for their respective quarter-final ties.

The first leg will be played on the weekend of 1 - 3 April, and the return leg 8 - 10 April.

GROUP 1

Thüringer HC (GER) vs Rostov Don (RUS) 28:32 (14:15)

The possibility of waving goodbye to the Main Round with a win proved to be very motivating for Thüringer, who were after their first victory in this round.

And the German team did manage to surprise the visitors.

The already eliminated Thüringer made good use of the visitors’ disorganised defence with goals from Svenja Huber and Eliza Buceschi.

The visibly annoyed Jan Leslie took his first timeout in the 15th minute after yet another Thüringer equaliser, but the determined home side kept the group winners on a short leash for most of the first half.

Rostov had the lead but Thüringer, who had some excellent first halves in the Main Round, this time continued to play well in the second half, too.

The Germans were continually trailing Rostov by two to three goals and fought with great pride, but Ekaterina Ilina and Co had more fuel in the tank and the margin eventually started to grow in the last ten minutes.

Thüringer lost all their Main Round games and finished last in Group 1, but the German side thoroughly deserved the standing ovation they received from their fans after the game.

Fleury Loiret Handball (FRA) vs Larvik (NOR) 28:31 (16:15)

The home side was eliminated from the competetion but the French newcomers, who managed to beat Larvik in Norway, looked determined to close their maiden Women’s EHF Champions League campaign on a high note.

Larvik arrived in Orleans to claim the second spot in Group 1 and took an early lead but Fleury soon took over and even managed to build up a three-goal lead.

As one might have expected the protagonists were Gnonsiane Niombla and Alexandrina Cabral Barbosa, while on the visitors’ behalf Nora Mørk was the most prolific scorer.

The visitors re-took the lead after the break when Sandra Toft made some saves but the second half was an extremely close encounter with the lead changing between the teams serveral times.

Tine Stange and Mørk were shining for Larvik while on the other side Manon Houette and Mélissa Agathe both were playing out of their skin.

The physically better Larvik held their nerve and defended well in the last minutes while Fleury seemed out of steam as the visitors went on to win this hard-fought tie.

Larvik finished the Main Round level on points with Ferencváros but the Norwegian side clinch second spot in Group 1 thanks to their superior record against FTC.

Fleury Loiret were a force to be reckoned with despite it being their first appearance in the Women’s EHF Champions League - the French champion finish the season fifth in Group 1.

TEXT: Bence Martha / bc