Rampant Györ blow away Budućnost

EHF Champions League holders Budućnost Podgorica may have set out to Hungary with high hopes of pulling off a second successive upset against Györ, after beating them on away goals in the 2012 final, but their youthful and revamped team were instead given a jolt lesson by one of this season’s favourites to lift the trophy.

Group 1
Györi Audi ETO (HUN) vs Budućnost Podgorica (MNE) 27:17 (14:7)

Led by magnificent Norwegian goalkeeper Katrine Lunde, who pulled off a stunning 16 saves including two penalties in the first half alone, the Hungarian champions enjoyed an emphatic win in front of 2,300 fans on home court.

Györ romped to an early 5:0 lead before Budućnost produced a brief flash in the pan, their only bright spell of the one-sided contest, to level the score at 6:6 midway through the first half.

It was one-way traffic from there on as the home team scored eight goals without reply to delight their passionate supporters and put two points in the bag in their opening Main Round Group 1 match.

With middle back Anita Görbicz and Brazilian Eduarda Amorim sharpshooter on song, the lead swelled to 26:13 in the closing stages before Budućnost restored some respectability to the scoreline with a late flurry.

Görbicz led all scorers with seven goals, three of them from the seven-metre penalty line, while Amorim added six to complement Haraldsen’s majestic performance between the posts.

The competition’s top scorer Milena Knežević, one of Montenegro’s key players in their EHF EURO 2012 triumph in Serbia, was the only beacon of light for Budućnost with six goals.  
 
Photo: Anikó Kovács