Veszprém’s attacking spectacle sinks Motor
MVM Veszprém comfortably eliminated HC Motor Zaporozhye with an exceptional attacking performance that saw them win the second leg of their VELUX EHF Champions League double header by a 13-goal margin.
"The key for us was in our defence. In the first ten minutes they played very good with tactics we have not seen before from them, but after that our defence became stronger and we scored a lot of fast break goals," said Veszprém coach Xavier Sabaté. "Laszlo Nagy, Mirsad Terzic and Mirko Alilovic were fantastic. I am very happy because we are in the best form so far. In attack we had the best Palmarsson this season. We have nine weeks left and we will try to be better in every aspect."
The Hungarian team will face HC Vardar in the quarter-final.
VELUX EHF Champions League Last 16, Second Leg
MVM Veszprém (HUN) vs. HC Motor Zaporozhye (UKR) 41:28 (23:14)
Veszprém win 70:52 on aggregate
Veszprém started as if they had not collected a reassuring lead in Ukraine, with an incredible offensive show in the first half.
Mirko Alilovic made some brilliant saves and the home side whipped the Veszprém cauldron to a frenzy with a number of fast breaks leading coach Sabaté’s team to score a season-high 23 goals before the break.
Sergey Shelmenko and Igor Soroka’s goals were all that kept Veszprém from increasing their lead to more than 10 goals while almost all of Veszprém’s players were at their outstanding best.
Andreas Nilsson was the most prolific scorer for the home side with seven goals, while a total of nine Veszprém players contributed at least three.
Everything seemed to come together for the hosts, as even left wing Gergö Ivancsik made a great save from a six-metre breakthrough shot when he came in for the goalkeeper in a shorthanded situation.
A strong display from deputy right back Peter Gulyas (three goals at 100%) was particularly important for Sabaté, as it seems the local hero will once again move to the back position for the remainder of the season to provide Laszlo Nagy with much-needed off time.
At the final whistle the score board showed a decisive advantage for Veszprém, earning the Hungarian team two wins from two in their Last 16 record.
TEXT: Bence Martha / cg
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