Barcelona and Veszprém progress to the Last 16

MKB Veszprém and FC Barcelona Intersport did not have any problems winning their respective sixth matches of the VELUX EHF Champions League and proceeding as the first teams to the Last 16. Füchse Berlin (at Zagreb) and Vive Targi Kielce (against Metalurg) were lucky winners on a thrilling Saturday. Additionally, Gorenje Velenje took a major step towards the knock-out stage.

Group B:

MKB Veszprém (HUN) vs. IK Sävehof (SWE) 34:24 (17:15)

MKB Veszprém kept their 100 percent success rate, as Sävehof were taught another lesson by the Hungarians like they were in Round 5.

Thanks to their sixth victory, Veszprém made their way to the Last 16 ahead of the fifth ranked team by six points. As in their first encounter in Sweden (32:22), the final margin was ten goals. Sävehof remain on four points with RK Celje and Atlético Madrid ahead of their encounter this Sunday against the Romanian champions HCM Constanta.

In contrast to their first duel, the teams were equal until the 25^th minute, when the score was 12:12, before the hosts went ahead to create a two-goal margin at the break. In the second half everybody expected a downswing by the Swedish champions, but they caught up to the favoured hosts and trailed only 20:22.

The final 18 minutes gave a clear result to the Hungarians who clearly outplayed Sävehof, beating them by double figures for the first time at 33:23.

The top scorers were Kristian Bliznac, scoring six times for Sävehof, and Gábor Császár with five goals for the visitors.

Group C:

Gorenje Velenje (SLO) vs. Chambéry Savoie (FRA) 31:25 (18:13)

The “wasps” are on track to march through to the Last 16 after beating Chambéry Savoie for the second time in just one week After winning 31:20 in their first match, the Slovenian champions are currently six points ahead of the fifth ranked team with only four matches to go. Chambéry lost their sixth straight match in this competition, but still have a chance to proceed to the knock-out stages.

The first half was dominated by Montenegrin Velenje wing, Fahrudin Melić, who scored seven of his overall eight goals in the first 30 minutes, extending the gap to a fairly decisive five goals. In the end, he was top scorer together with Jure Dolenec, who will transfer to Montpellier next season.

Chambéry tried hard to reduce the gap, but struggled to keep the margin to less than four goals difference. Velenje took a well-deserved fourth victory, putting them in equal second place with Metalurg.

Vive Targi Kielce (POL) vs. Metalurg Skopje (MKD) 21:20 (8:12)

Vive Targi Kielce can celebrate their qualification to the Last 16 if St. Petersburg do not win at Bjerringbro on Sunday. It is Kielce’s sixth straight win and their second consecutive victory against Metalurg in just one week. After winning at Skopje 23:21 in Round 5, this match was even closer with a final margin of only one goal. After Macedonians secured four victories in the first four rounds, this is now their second straight defeat.

“Today, the luckier team won. We had our chances, but we were not able to use them. We played tonight without the injured Kozlina, who is a key player in our defense, but I think if we played in Skopje as today, we would have won that match,” assistant coach of Metalurg Alexander Petrovski said.

It was a real thriller, but Metalurg was beaten despite an outstanding performance by their goalkeeper Darko Stanić.

Skopje were ahead by four goals at the break, and in the nail-biting second half the Kielce goalkeeper Sławomir Szmal was as good as his counterpart. At the intermediate score of 14:14 Kielce managed to score again, but Metalurg were still on eye level.

At 19:17, the Polish champions were close to turning the match around completely, but still Stanić had his shop shut down. 80 seconds before the end, the Macedonains took the lead 20:19, but a razor-sharp counter-attack by Ivan Čupić brought the equalizer again. And Michał Jurecki scored right before the final buzzer giving the game 21:20 to the host. Jurecki and Naumče Mojsovski were the top scorers with six goals apiece in an incredibly thrilling fight.

“I do not think it was just our luck at the end. In my opinion we had more 100 per cent situations which we used. Stanić showed today why he is considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world. I want to thank my players for the fight and our fans for their support," Kielce head coach Bogdan Wenta said at the press conference.

Group D:

RK Croatia Osiguranje Zagreb (CRO) vs. Füchse Berlin (GER) 24:25 (12:9)

Sometimes it is not the best, but the more experienced and luckier team which wins a match – and after their close 29:27 victory on home soil in Round 5, Füchse managed to win by just one goal at Zagreb. The victory only mathematically keeps the Germans away from the Last 16 with 10 points on their account now, while Zagreb remain on three points. Berlin now need just one more point from their next four matches to progress.

The Croats played a superb first half and the result of 12:9 didn’t really do them justice. Füchse’s goalkeeper Silvio Heinevetter clearly improved compared to their first encounter and was the “saviour” of his team, but even he could not avoid Zagreb getting ahead by six goals in the second half. Finally Füchse began to make a come back and in the final stages the Croats lost their concentration and Berlin came closer goal by goal. The seventh strike of wing youngster Johanness Sellin (top scorer by seven goals) meant a 25:24 victory to Berlin. Luka Stepančić scored eight times for Zagreb.

FC Barcelona Intersport (ESP) vs. Pick Szeged (HUN) 33:24 (16:13)

VELUX EHF Champions League record winners FC Barcelona Intersport were the first team to proceed to the Last 16 with a clean sweep of six victories in six matches. Like in the first leg against Pick Szeged (33:28), the Catalans beat the Hungarian runners-up clearly. Pick Szeged now remain on two points at the bottom of this group.

Like in the first encounter, it was a tough work for Barcelona. After initially being equal on 7:7, the Spaniards increased the gap to three goals at the break, but the Szeged resistance was not broken, as the guest team did not play with any respect and could hope for a sensation when being below only by 19:20 and 20:22.

But finally Barcelona kept cool and decided the match thanks to a series of 5:1 until 29:23. Like in the first leg, Alberto Rocas was  the top scorer in a well-balanced Barca team with five goals. František Šulc scored six times for unlucky Szeged.