EHFCL Round 8 recap: important win for Eurofarm Rabotnik

Lovro Jotic

SEHA clubs have played their 8th round VELUX EHF Champions League matches this week. This round was victorious for incredible Eurofarm Rabotnik who secured important win on the home court against IK Savehof. Telekom Veszprem also won new points as they were once again better than Meshkov Brest. 

(Group C) Tatran Presov – Sporting CP 22:37 (10:16)
Tatran Presov opened the 8th round for SEHA clubs with a clash against Sporting CP. Slavko Goluza's squad did not manage to win new points this time as they faced 22:37 (10:16) defeat on the home court. From the very beginning, the guests took the lead and were holding onto their advantage. The home team was close up to 20th minute in the first half when Sporting simply made a 5 goals gap and the home team did not have an answer for such play. In the second half Tatran Presov completely lost control of the match and Sporting's advantage kept getting bigger. Valentin Marian Ghionea and Tiago Rocha were the best scorers in the winning team with 7 goals each. On the other side, Lukas Urban netted 6 times for Tatran Presov. 

(Group A) PPD Zagreb – Celje Pivovarna Lasko 27:31 (11:14)
Croatian champions, PPD Zagreb did not manage to surprise Celje Pivovarna Lasko this time. Slovenian team once again took the points and ended a match with 31:27 (14:11) victory. The guest team got in the lead very early in the match and dominated on the court for the most time. PPD Zagreb coach, Veselin Vujovic was not able to find the right tactics against Slovenian team which resulted in another home court defeat. Filip Vistorop with 6 goals and Marin Sipic with 5 goals stood out the most in the home team while Josip Sarac was the best scorer in the winning team with 10 goals. 

(Group B) Telekom Veszprem – Meshkov Brest 31:25 (14:14)
Telekom Veszprem came out victorious in the clash against another SEHA team, Meshkov Brest. After they were better than Belarusian champions in the previous round, Telekom Veszprem secured 31:25 (14:14) victory this time and continued their winning streak against Meshkov Brest. Even though they were in the lead for the most part in the first half, squad from Brest managed to tie the result on the half-time which gave them hope for winning the points in Veszprem. But, Hungarian champions opened the second half confidently and soon after they were 5 goals up. At that point it was clear that Telekom Veszprem will secure victory. The best scorers in the winning team were Petar Nenadic, Manuel Strlek and Dragan Gajic who netted 5 times each. On the other side, William Accambray carried Meshkov Brest with 5 goals as well. 

(Group B) PGE VIVE Kielce – Vardar 35:25 (17:14)
Reigning SEHA and European champions, Vardar faced defeat against PGE VIVE Kielce on Saturday. Polish team was better with a 35:25 (17:14) result and secured new points in front of their fans. The home team took on the lead at the beginning of the match and were 3 goals up in the 14th minute. As the time went by in the second half, that gap increased. With 7 goals advantage and only 14 minutes left on the clock it was clear that Vardar will not take points this time. Former Vardar's star Igor Karacic, alonsgide Artsem Karalek, were the best scorers in the winning team. Each of them scored 6 goals. Timur Dibirov netted 9 times for Vardar and was the shiniest star in the guest team that day. 

(Group C) Eurofarm Rabotnik – IK Savehof 32:31 (18:12)
Eurofarm Rabotnik have secured new points on the home court. In Sunday's clash, they were better than IK Savehof 32:31 (18:12). Great play could be seen on the both sides in the first half. But, team from Bitola managed to make a gap and secure 6 goals advantage on the half-time. In the second half, the guests have reduced that gap and were down by two to three goals for the most time. But, the real thriller happened 10 minutes before the end when IK Savehof made a comeback and tied the result. Goal by goal play could be seen on the court after that. With only few seconds left on the clock, the result was 31:31. Mirko Radovic brought happiness to the home team with his goal in the last seconds of the match which was enough for Eurofarm Rabotnik's win. Alongside Mirko Radovic who netted 6 times for the winning team, Vladislav Ostroushko and Lovro Jotic also scored 6 goals each. William Bogojevic was the best scorer on the other side with 9 goals. 

(Group B) Montpellier HB – Motor Zaporozhye 34:30 (16:15)
Ukrainian team Motor Zaporozhye did not manage to secure points in their away appearance against Montpellier HB. French team was too strong once again and took 34:30 (16:15) victory. The key moment was in the 50th minute when Montpellier increased their advantage to 5 goals and Motor Zaporozhye did not have the answer for that. The best scorers in the winning team were Yanis Lenne and Hugo Descat who netted 8 times each for Montpellier. On the other side, Igor Soroka was the best scorer in the guest team with 6 goals.