23.01.2021, 06:00
Away teams dominate in European League round 3

ROUND 3 REVIEW: All three teams playing away from home this afternoon came away victorious.

In Group A, Herning-Ikast did not have much trouble taking the points in Vac, in order to draw level with Paris at the top of the group. Nantes, meanwhile, take the lead in Group B thanks to their win in Poland in the high-profile clash of the day. In Saturday's last game, Siofok nailed the two points in Braila in order to increase their advantage at the top of Group D.

GROUP A

Vaci NKSE (HUN) vs Herning-Ikast Handbold (DEN) 26:38 (13:21) 

• If the first ten minutes of the game saw a level contest, the rest of the game was a one-sided affair, with the Danish side proving to be unstoppable in attack.
• With the 38 goals scored, Herning-Ikast delivered the best offensive performance of all the matches in this season’s group phase so far
• Five players scored five or more for Herning-Ikast, with Emma Cecilie Friis netting seven times
• Herning-Ikast go level with Paris on top of the group with four points, while Vaci remain third with two points.

GROUP B

MKS Perla Lublin (POL) vs Nantes Atlantique Handball 26:31 (12:15)

• A second straight win saw Nantes climb to the top of the group with four points
• Lublin suffered their first defeat in the current group phase and are now ranked second with three points
• Playing in her home country, Nantes’ Polish goalkeeper Adriana Placzek recorded 14 saves
• The teams were tied at 23:23 with ten minutes to go, but propelled by Almeida De Paula and Lotte Grigel, the French team enjoyed an 8:3 run in the remaining time to clinch a five-goal win

Group D

H.C. Dunarea Braila (ROM) vs Siófok KC (HUN) 25:27 (14:11)

• Braila’s 23 year-old left back, Maria Kanaval, had a huge game and finished as the best scorer with 7
• the Romanian side was unstoppable at the end of the first half and developed a 3-goals lead. The away team fought back successfully with better defence in the next period and erased the difference quickly to steal two points from Braila
• With this triumph Siófok stayed unbeaten and lead Group D with 7 points after three matches
• The two clubs will face each other in the 4^th round of the Women’s EHF European League

Hungarian unbeaten streaks

Győri Audi ETO KC’s historical performances in the DELO EHF Champions League are well-known. Siófok’s last loss in European competition happened against the Norwegian side Viborg HK almost two years ago in April 2019. Since then, the new Hungarian powerhouse stayed unbeaten for 13 games, won the last Women’s EHF Cup in 2019 - the ancestor of the current women’s EHF European League - and had the chance to repeat the previous season's triumph until the coronavirus pandemic forced the tournament to be cancelled.

TEXT: EHF / Kevin Domas