05.03.2020, 10:30
Odense and THC chase comeback wins at home

QUARTER-FINAL PREVIEW: Both the Danish and the German side need to overcome a deficit from their away match last week, while Siófok and Herning-Ikast look favourites to make the Women’s EHF Cup semi-final

Following the first leg matches of the Women’s EHF Cup quarter-final, title holders Siófok KC Hungary have got one foot in the semi-final. Siófok earned a nine-goal win at Kastamonu Belediyesi GSK in Turkey and hope to confirm their advantage at home.

Herning-Ikast Handbold are also in with a good chance after their three-goal away win at SC Gloria Bistrita-Nasaud in Romania.

However, Odense Handbold (three-goal defeat against Handball Club Lada) and Thüringer HC (four-goal defeat against HC Podravka Vegeta) need to stage a comeback in their home arenas on Sunday in order to keep their title bids alive.

In the semi-final, the winner of Odense against Lada will meet either Siófok oder Kastamonu, while Herning-Ikast or Gloria will face either THC or Podravka.

QUARTER-FINAL, RETURN LEG

Siófok KC Hungary (HUN) vs Kastamonu Belediyesi GSK (TUR)
Saturday 7 March, 18:00 CET, live on ehfTV.com

• Siófok took a big step towards the semi-final with a 38:29 win in Turkey
• Siófok are on a seven-match unbeaten run in the competition and won the last three games
• Kastamonu are playing in Hungary for a third time this season: they lost to Vac (30:25) in qualifying and beating DVSC (34:32) in the group phase
• Kastamonu’s Asli Iskit, who netted 10 times in the first leg, is the third-best scorer of the competition with 65 goals

Herning-Ikast Handbold (DEN) vs CS Gloria 2018 Bistrita-Nasaud (ROU)
Sunday 8 March, 15:30 CET

• Herning-Ikast on the away leg 29:26 last week thanks to a superb second-half performance
• Bistrita already played in Denmark this season, losing 25:19 to Odense in the group phase
• Herning-Ikast’s Helene Fauske is the second-best scorer of the competition with 70 goals
• Valentina Ardean Elisei is the best scorer for Bistrita, with 34 goals

Odense Handbold (DEN) vs Handball Club Lada (RUS)
Sunday 8 March, 15:00 CET

• in Togliatti, Lada led 31:24 with five minutes to go but let Odense reduced the deficit to three goals, 31:28
• Lada clearly won an earlier match in Denmark, beating Herning-Ikast by 10 goals (38:28) in the group phase
• Lada’s Elena Mikhaylichenko leads the top scorer standings with 72 goals
• both sides won their midweek domestic games, as Odense beat TTH 26:22 and Lada defeated Zvezda 35:27

Thüringer HC (GER) vs HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO)
Sunday 8 March, 14:00 CET, live on ehfTV.com

• after winning all six group matches, THC suffered a 27:23 defeat in Koprivnica last week
• Podravka’s new Angolan arrival Azenaide Danila Jose Carlos had a great debut for the Croatian champions, but was topped by top scorer Lamprini Tsakalou (nine goals) in the first leg
• THC’s last semi-final in a EC competition was in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 2012/13; Podravka reached the semi-final in the same competition in 2007/08
• THC still missing Iveta Koresova (pregnancy) and Meike Schmelzer (broken foot)

TEXT: Sergey Nikolaev, Björn Pazen / ew