Tollbring shines against former club; thrilling draw in Szeged

Current title holders Vardar were on a verge of losing their first match of this VELUX EHF Champions League campaign in Szeged, but ultimately fought for a point.

Jerry Tollbring was back to his old arena in Kristianstad, now with new club Rhein-Neckar Löwen, and took the two points with him after the German champions secured a comprehensive 35:22, while Barcelona turned a five-goal deficit around with a strong second half against HBC Nantes

· Vardar drop their first point of the season.
· Nantes could not keep a brilliant first half going as they slip to defeat in Barcelona.
· Jerry Tolbring was the top scorer at his old arena with seven goals for Rhein-Neckar Löwen.

GROUP A

IFK Kristianstad (SWE) vs Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER) 22:35 (12:18)

Mannheim’s lions took the lead from the very first minute and played with confidence while the Swedish defense was in trouble. Löwen built up their lead steadily and with four goals in a row their lead was already six goals in the 18th minute (13:7).

After a second time-out, Kristianstad tried to cut back but the Lions never give up the edge and had a comfortable six-goal lead during the break (18:12).

Kristianstad tried to fight back after the break, led by six goals from their Icelandic captain Olafur Gudmundsson, but the gap was simply too large. The German champions were just warming up and completely dominated the second half.

With still 13 minutes to go, the Germans were 12 goals ahead (31:19) and the fate was sealed for the Swedish champions. When the final whistle blew, Löwen celebrated their dominant win and two points to take back to Germany.

Löwen’s Icelandic duo Alexander Petersson and Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson were rested completely while Tolbring stepped up in front of his old supporters with seven goals.

This was the second big defeat in a row for Kristianstad after losing 36:27 against Pick Szeged in the third round. Meanwhile, it was the biggest win this season for the German champions, who are in a good position with six points.

MOL-Pick Szeged (HUN) vs HC Vardar (MKD) 26:26 (14:13)

Szeged’s last victory against the Macedonian powerhouse dated back to 2004. In the two previous seasons, the teams faced each other four times, and all matches were won by the Skopje side.

Now with the help of their home crowd, Szeged hoped to end this negative series and ultimately earned a point in an extremely tight and dramatic game.

However, the draw leaves a somewhat bitter taste for the Hungarian side as they were leading throughout the whole match, albeit mostly by just one or two goals.

As many as ten Szeged's players put their name on the scoresheet, including Sergey Gorbok, who used to play in Vardar's colours.

Szeged's goalkeeper Jose Manuel Sierra also played a good game and his saves were among the factors contributing to the hosts' slight superiority during the 60 minutes.

Vardar show character

By the 27th minute, they built on a three-goal margin (13:10), yet Vardar drew level and could go in front, but Sierra denied Luka Cindric.

Richard Bodo managed to score in the last seconds, giving Szeged a half-time lead (14:13).

The closing stage of the second half was no less entertaining. Three minutes from the final buzzer, Szeged were up 26:24, yet Vardar did not give up and showed character as Vuko Borozan and Jorge Maqueda drew level.

Timur Dibirov had a huge chance to bring the Macedonian side the victory from a fast break, but his shot went over the bar, as did Szeged's free throw at the buzzer.

FC Barcelona Lassa (ESP) vs HBC Nantes (FRA) 31:25 (13:16)

A strong second-half performance enabled record champions Barcelona to fight back from a five-goal deficit against spirited Nantes and celebrate an ultimately emphatic win in their absorbing VELUX EHF Champions League clash.

The French side threatened to cause an upset on an emotional evening for their right back, former Barcelona star Kiril Lazarov, who scored four first-half goals as the visitors wiped out an early 9:5 deficit and led 18:13 shortly after the break.

Romain Lagarde and Rudolf Faluvegi marched in step with Lazarov as Nantes stunned Barcelona with a flurry of fast breaks and intricate set plays, leaving the home team’s players chasing shadows in defence.

French backs turn the tide

However, the Nantes attack ground to a screeching half after they took a five-goal lead and Barcelona did not need a second invitation to turn the tide for good.  

Driven by French backs Dika Mem and Thimotey N’Guessan, the Spanish giants drew level at 19:19 and then romped into a 27:22 lead as Victor Tomas galvanised the Palau Blaugrana crowd and Raul Entrerrios scored several vital goals.

Nantes fought as hard as they could in the closing stages to launch another fightback, but were contained by some rugged defending and there was no way back against a more resourceful Barcelona.

Mem and line player Kamil Syprzak led the home team with six goals, while N’guessan, and Tomas added five each.

Lagarde and Faluvegi scored five apiece for Nantes, with Lazarov and Nicolas Tournat chipping in four each.