La Rioja make Veszprem work hard for second victory

MKB-MVM Veszprem secured a spot in the VELUX EHF Champions League quarter-finals by defeating Naturhouse La Rioja, but the Spanish team made Veszprem work hard for their money in the second leg, which turned out to be a spectacular exhibition of attacking handball.

LAST 16

MKB-MVM Veszprem (HUN) vs Naturhouse La Rioja (SPA) 37:31 (18:15)
Veszprem win 68:54 on aggregate

Veszprem won the first leg by eight goals and it came as no surprise that the Hungarian side’s notorius defense lacked the usual concentration having already put a handsome lead in the first leg against Naturhouse La Rioja.

The visitors made the most of this in attack and attempted to stop Renato Sulic, who scored nine goals in the first leg as Veszprem’s attacks were just as outstanding as they were in the first leg.

As the match rolled on it turned into a spectacular goal feast with combined goal-tally from both teams being 33 by the break.

Veszprem stepped on the gas after the break but La Rioja cancelled the home side’s lead and went ahead for the first time by the 41th minute.

Rodriguez Alvarez put up a great performance and Carlos Ortega was forced to take a time-out amid jeers from the sold out stands.

The Logrono outfit played with pride and strength but when Roland Mikler hit his form in goal, Veszprem once again gathered momentum and took a hard-fought win.  

La Rioja's Javier Gonzalez was happy on reflection of his team's performance: "For about 40 minutes our surprise tatics worked but then Carlos Ortega found the remedy for it. Congratulations to Veszprem, for us it was a great achievement to reach the Last 16."

Veszprem star Laszlo Nagy acknowledged the tough game and can now look forward to the next stage: "La Rioja are a great team, who managed to surprise us in attack especially in the first half. We are in the quarter-finals and cannot wait to learn who our opponent will be.

IIic was top scorer for Veszprem while Rodriguez Alvarez came up with the goods for his side - both players scoring 10 goals each.