Motor claim high-scoring win over Medvedi in opening encounter

The VELUX EHF Champions League season began with a flourish in Ukraine as Motor Zaporozhye defeated the competition’s youngest squad Chekhovskie Medvedi.

· Motor tie their record largest victory in season opener

· Lithuanian centre back Aidenas Malasinskas lead the scoring with seven goals

· Motor right back Sergey Shelmenko scores five against his former club

· Montpellier vs Metalurg on Saturday and Besiktas vs Sporting on Sunday also in Group D

HC Motor Zaporozhye (UKR) vs Chekhovskie Medvedi (RUS) 36:23 (21:16)

Motor Zaporozhye’s quality prevailed after a balanced encounter in the first half. The Ukrainian side built on their lead in the second half to claim a comfortable 36:23 opening win, matching their previous largest victory - a 35:22 triumph away to ABC/UMinho in 2016.

Offensive encounter

The high-scoring game must have pleased the home fans as they rose to their feet at the conclusion, but neither side’s defence worked in the first half.

Motor were passive in their defensive work with a 6-0, while Medvedi failed to make an impact with their 5-1. The youthful Russian side lacked experience and co-operation while defending their goal.

Two coaching generations

Chekhov coach Vladimir Maximov rotated the bench and switched tactics in defence, however, this did not prevent Motor earning a five-goal lead at half-time.

Meanwhile, his younger counterpart Patryk Rombel pursued a more aggressive, active defence which stepped closer to the nine metre line to add pressure on Medvedi after the break.

Second half blast

Man-marking Motor’s Lithuanian centre back Aidenas Malasinskas did not stop the hosts from finding the back of the net.

It was apparent the Lithuanian star, alongside summer signing Maxim Babichev, were enjoying the game, scoring a combined 12 goals.

Zaporozhye clearly outperformed Medvedi 11 goals to one on counter attacks, a clear indication where the biggest difference between the teams lay.