EHFCL Round 10 recap: end of competition for Eurofarm Rabotnik and Tatran Presov

Javier Munoz Cabezon

In the last round before the winter break, handball enthusiasts had a chance to witness some incredible clashes. 
This season's VELUX EHF Champions League journey ended for Eurofarm Rabotnik and Tatran Presov in this round. Team from Bitola finished the Group Phase on 6th position in Group C, while Tatran Presov secured 4th position in that same Group.  

(Group B) Motor Zaporozhye – Porto Sofarma 33:29 (19:16)
Ukrainian Motor Zaporozhye opened Round 10 for SEHA clubs in the best way possible. They secured their first VELUX EHF Champions League victory of the season. Ukrainian gem came on top against Porto Sofarma on the home court with 33:29 (19:16) result. For the whole time in first half the home team was in the lead. But, at the start of the second half Porto Sofarma tied result. After a few minutes of the goal by goal play, Motor Zaporozhye once again took the lead and ended the match without a lot of drama on the court. Igor Soroka stood out the most in this victory with 8 goals for Motor Zaporozhye while Diogo Branquinho and Andre Gomes with 6 goals each were the best scorers in the guest team. 

(Group B) PGE VIVE Kielce – Meshkov Brest 30:24 (12:11)
Meshkov Brest did not manage to repeat the victorious result from the previous round when they delivered big win against Vardar. In this one, PGE VIVE Kielce secured 30:24 (12:11) win. Even though Belarusian champions started the match confidently and were in the lead all the way up to the 16th minute, home team soon after made a turnover. The teams were equal for the most part in the second half. But, 47th minute was crucial as that was when Kielce secured 3 goals advantage after which Meshkov Brest did not manage to come back into the match and take the lead back in their possession. Despite that, William Accambray showed great performance on the court and netted 6 times for Belarusian champions. On the other side, Blaz Janc was the biggest star in the winning team with 7 goals.   

(Group A) MOL-Pick Szeged – PPD Zagreb 33:23 (14:7)
PPD Zagreb faced another tough defeat in the Champions League. This time, Hungarian team was better with a 33:23 (14:7) result. From the very beginning of the match, home team showed that they were serious about winning the points that day. They had 4 goals advantage in the 16th minute and, by the end of the first half, that advantage got way bigger. The second half was a routine job for MOL-Pick Szeged who ended up taking the points on the home court. Joan Canellas Reixach carried his team in this victory with 5 goals while the best scorer in the guest team was Ante Gadza with incredible 7 goals. 

(Group C) Eurofarm Rabotnik – Bidasoa Irun 25:23 (14:15) Eurofarm Rabotnik finished this season's Champions League adventure with a victory. In their last match of the Group Phase, team from Bitola was better than Bidasoa Irun with a 25:23 (14:15) result. Despite the 5 goals advantage that guests had in the first 24th minute of the match, Eurofarm Rabotnik made a complete comeback and took on the lead at the start of the second half. Teams entered the last three minutes with 23:23 tie, but Vladislav Ostroushko scored two back to back goals which ended up being victorious for team from Bitola. He was also the best scorer in the winning team with 8 goals. On the other side, Rudy Seri was the most efficient in the guest team with 9 goals. Despite this win, Eurofarm ended Group Phase on the bottom of the table in Group C which means that this season's Champions League journey has come to an end for them. 

(Group C) Tatran Presov – Cocks 30:19 (15:11)
Group Phase has also ended with a victory for Tatran Presov who were better than Cocks with a 30:19 (15:11) result. At the start of the first half, the teams were equal for the most time, but after 12th minute Slovakian team got in the lead and continued to show their dominance on the court for the rest of the match. Javier Munoz Cabezon was the shiniest star in the winning team with 8 goals, while Teemu Tamminen was the best scorer in the guest team with the same number of goals. This was also the last Group Phase match for Tatran Presov who ended the Competition on the 4th place in Group C. 

(Group B) Vardar – Telekom Veszprem 29:38 (15:22)
Vardar and Telekom Veszprem closed off the 10th round for SEHA clubs. In this one, Hungarian champions delivered dominant 38:29 (22:15) victory. Telekom Veszprem secured early lead and had 7:2 advantage in the 8th minute. That gap continued to get bigger as the time went by. For the whole course of the match, the guests were dominating on the court and it seemed as though Vardar did not have an answer for such play. Petar Nenadic delivered amazing performance with 11 goals for Telekom Veszprem. Pavel Atman, on the other side, netted 7 times for Vardar.