13 goals from Tomori not enough for FTC

Hungarian international Zsuzsanna Tomori produced a dominant performance, but could not help her team overcome an eight-goal first leg deficit to proceed to the semi-finals of the Women’s Cup Winners’ Cup.

The Hungarian team managed to get within one goal on aggregate against Viborg HK, but as the Danish visitors managed to limit the defeat to 31:26 in the return match and book their place in the semi-final.

As are Rostov-Don, who could easily live with a 34:30 defeat away against Buxtehuder SV, as the Russian team had brought a 13-goal lead with them to Germany.

Zvezda Zvenigorod increased the Russian representation in the semi-finals to two teams, as they finished the job they started by winning with four goals to spare in France against Fleury Loiret Handball last weekend, winning the home game 34:28.

Buxtehuder SV (GER) vs Rostov-Don (RUS) 34:30 (17:15)
First leg 24:37, Aggregate 58:67

Just like everyone would expect after the big win in the first leg, Rostov-Don proceed to the semi-final, but Buxtehude came out of the tie with a great deal of honour thanks to their four-goal win at home Saturday.

1,100 spectators in the Sporthalle Schulzentrum Nord in Buxteuder saw the northern German home team lead by five goals, 14:9, in the first half, but at half-time the lead was reduced to two goals and any possible hope of catching up on aggregate was extinguished.

The fact that the half-time lead was doubled in the second half only contributed to the Buxtehuder exiting the tournament in style.

“BSV (Buxtehuder SV) won deservedly today. Unfortunately, only one team could proceed to the semi-final, and I am happy that we are that team.” Rostov-Don coach Sergey Belitskiy said.

“I am happy with my team today, we took an important step forward,” Buxtehude coach Dirk Leun said.

“None of us had probably believed in the chance to achieve a result like this against a top team like Rostov-Don, but this gives us confidence for the future,” Leun added.

In the semi-finals Rostov-Don will meet Danish outfit Viborg HK

FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs Viborg HK (DEN) 31:26 (15:15)
First leg 32:40, Aggregate 63:66

Viborg are ready for the semi-final against Rostov-Don after a thriller in the Fötav Arena in Budapest.

In fact, FTC were only one goal away from catching up with Viborg´s eight-goal lead from the first leg, as the Hungarian team lead 30:23 towards the end, but the visitors managed to limit the distance to five goals, which was enough for the Women’s EHF Champions League winners from 2006, 2009 and 2010 to progress.

In the first half, the home team did not seem to have much of a chance to catch up with the large deficit from the first match in Viborg on Monday.

Viborg opened up a four-goal advantage several times and seemed to be in control, but the hosts managed to find their rhythm and went into the second half all-square.

As Viborg lost one of their key players, Linnea Torstensson, who got her third two-minute suspension in the second minute of the second half, the course of the game changed.

FTC got the far better start to the second half and not only did the home team open the half by getting their first lead in the match, but also managed to increase the lead to seven goals at 30:23, but being one goal down on aggregate was as close as they could get.

Not even Zsuzsanna Tomori’s impressive 13-goal tally was enough and at the end it was only the Viborg fans among the 1,200 spectators who could celebrate.

“It was a great team effort again today. We got in trouble with the red card to Linnea (Torstensson) We are proud and happy, and now we look ahead,” Viborg coach Christian Dalmose told the club’s website. 

Zvezda Zvenigorod (RUS) vs Fleury Loiret Handball (FRA) 34:28 (18:11)
First leg 32:28, Aggregate 66:56

With 11 goals, Ekatarina Marennikova made a considerable contribution as Zvezda finished the job against Fleury.

Having won with four goals in France last weekend, the Russian team were clear favourites for the ticket for the semi-final, and from the start of the second match, Zvezda left no doubt that they were not going to give their opponents any chance to steal the semi-final spot away from them.

The hosts soon jumped into a clear lead and were already leading by seven at half-time. The home side took their foot off the pedal and could live with losing the second half by a single goal.

In the semi-final, Zvezda face Norwegian side Byasen Trondheim, who sensationally eliminated defending champions Hypo Niederösterreich by 13 goals in a doubleheader the previous week.