Randers upset Brest, Lada and Larvik march on

In the Women’s EHF Cup, Saturday programme in Groups A and B featured clashes between the first- and last-placed teams. While Lada made their fans happy by beating Vipers, a voyage to Randers turned into frustration for Brest. Meanwhile in the Scandinavian derby in Group C, Larvik were too strong for Höör.

• Lada have a maximum of nine points after three games
• Vipers still have no points in hand
• Randers won their first match in the group phase

GROUP A

Randers HK (DEN) vs Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) 26:18 (13:11)

While Brest had defeated both Craiova and Kuban in the previous games, Randers sat bottom of the quartet following losses against the same rivals.

However, the Danish team managed to upset the visitors, confidently beating them by eight goals. Brest are still the provisional leader of Group A, yet the winner of the Sunday game between Kuban and Craiova will be level on points with them.

As many as 10 players scored for the French side in Randers, yet none of them did it more than four times. The world champion Alison Pineau, who had just extended her contract until 2021, was particularly unimpressive, scoring only once from seven attempts.

The first half was extremely tight until the sides were level on 9:9, yet a two-goal edge at the break boosted Randers’ morale. And the home team totally dominated in the second half, ultimately sighing with relief after their first victory in the group.

GROUP B

Handball Club Lada (RUS) vs Vipers Kristiansand (NOR) 29:24 (14:12)

Last season, these two teams met in the EHF Cup Qualification Round 2, when Lada went through in a very tight fight.

Now the Russian side were stronger again, and following a five-goal victory they consolidated their top position in Group B with the maximum of six points.

Vipers, on the other hand, suffered their third straight defeat, so it will be very hard for the Norwegian team to claim a quarter-final spot.

Lada dominated throughout the whole match thanks to their leaders - Elena Utkina was superb in goal, while Polina Vedekhina and Daria Dmitrieva set the pace in attack and finished the game with nine and seven goals respectively.

Vipers, who had an exhausting 17-hour trip to Toliatti on Thursday, should be credited for fighting until the end. However, they have to come to terms with another defeat, and the Norwegian team just have to hope for revenge at home next week.

GROUP D

H 65 Höörs HK (SWE) vs Larvik (NOR) 25:27 (14:14)

The Nordic derby in Eslöv, where Höör play their home matches in the EHF Cup, featured a very tight and entertaining battle. Yet Larvik slightly dominated throughout the game, and finally they clinched their second win in three group games.

The Norwegian side continue to top Group D with five points, while Höör stay on two points.

Larvik’s Cassandra Tollbring, who had spent three previous seasons at Höör, scored just once against her former teammates. However, the visitors had more prolific players in their squad as Kristine Breistol and Tine Stange netted six times each.

Larvik were up 14:11 a few minutes before half-time, yet the hosts managed to draw level at the break. During the second half, the opponents were level again a few times, yet Larvik had an upper hand in the closing minutes and claimed two points.