28.01.2018, 05:20
FTC climb to second place after overrunning Buducnost

GROUP 2 REVIEW: Thanks to a strong second-half performance, the Hungarian team started the main round with an eight-goal victory against the 2015 champions

FTC climb to second place after overrunning Buducnost

FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria couldn’t have asked for a better start into the Women’s EHF Champions League Main Round.

On Sunday afternoon, they beat Buducnost by 34:26 to share second place in Group 2 with Metz, four points behind runaway leaders HC Vardar.

• FTC now have six points; Buducnost remain on four

• Buducnost lost all four away games in the competition this season

• FTC’s Laura van der Heijden was the top scorer with seven goals

GROUP 2

FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs Buducnost (MNE) 34:26 (19:18)

The audience in Dabas witnessed dynamic handball, with fast attacking moves and a lot of goals.

The first half featured an extremely tight fight, and for a long time it looked like Buducnost had an edge.

After 7:7 midway through the first half, the visitors pulled clear to 13:10, then 18:16. But FTC drew level both times. A few seconds before the break, Greta Marton put the hosts in front (19:18).

In the second half the more experienced hosts dominated and had a 7:2 run before the 40th minute. FTC considerably improved their defensive game, which allowed them to score from fast breaks.

At 31:23 with 10 minutes to go, the game was basically settled, and FTC had no problems clinching a victory as they conceded just eight goals in the second half.

Last season, both teams also in the main round and exchanged away victories. But this time the Hungarian side made their home crowd happy.

TEXT: Sergey Nikolaev / ew