Lada, Kastamonu and Zalau through to EHF Cup Quarter-finals

With one round of matches to go, four quarter-finalists of the Women's EHF Cup are already known.

While Larvik had secured their berth already in the previous round, Lada, Kastamonu and Zalau booked their berth among the top eight following their victories on Sunday.

· Kuban, Brest and Craiova are level on six points in Group A

· All three Danish teams lost on Sunday

· Lada's Daria Dmitrieva netted 12 times against Koebenhavn

· Zalau claimed their fourth straight win

GROUP A

Kuban (RUS) vs Randers HK (DEN) 28:21 (12:8)

Kuban needed a home victory against Randers to go level on points with Brest and Craiova and the Russian side did so in style.

Following their four-goal at the break, the Russian team further improved in the second half and basically settled the game long before the final buzzer.

For Randers, the defeat in Krasnodar means that their hopes of progression are over and will remain bottom of the group.

Kuban, Brest and Craiova all have six points, so the last round of matches will determine which two of these teams will progress.

GROUP B

Koebenhavn Haandbold (DEN) vs Handball Club Lada (RUS) 28:31 (11:17)

It was a good weekend for Russian teams playing in Europe. While Rostov beat Krim in the Women’s EHF Champions League on Saturday, Kuban and Lada followed their example on the next day in the EHF Cup.

For Lada, a success in Frederiksberg was the fourth victory in five group matches. Unlike the previous season, when the Togliatti-based side narrowly missed a quarter-final berth, now they secured their passage to the next round and the top spot in Group B with one match to spare.

As usual, Lada's captain Daria Dmitrieva was the player to watch, as the Russian international contributed 12 goals to the winning tally.

Koebenhavn, who are now last-placed with just three points, gave themselves plenty to do with a six-goal deficit at half-time.

Although the home team fought hard after the break, they were unable to claim a positive result and their head-to-head record with second placed Issy Paris Hand means progression to the quarter-finals is no longer possible.

GROUP C

Kastamonu Belediyesi GSK (TUR) vs Viborg HK (DEN) 28:15 (13:6)

Both sides started the game knowing a victory would secure them a quarter-final spot with one match remaining. And it was Kastamonu who grabbed their chance and maintained their perfect home record in the group.

The hosts took early control of the game and started to build up their advantage, while Viborg felt insecure in attack and missed many scoring chances.

The Turkish team easily led by seven goals at halt-time, and nothing really changed after the break. Kastamonu spread their scoring among nine players, lead by six goals from Yana Uskova.

While Viborg’s three-game winning run came to an end, they still have it all to play for. Their fate will be decided in a home match against Byasen on Saturday 10 February and a draw in this Scandinavian derby will put Viborg through to the quarter-finals.

GROUP D

H.C.Zalau (ROM) vs Larvik (NOR) 25:22 (13:9)

While Larvik had guaranteed their progression a week ago, Zalau became the second quarter-finalist from Group D following their victory against the Norwegian side.

Now the team coached by Gheorghe Tadici have four straight wins under their belt and are top of the pile.

Larvik's Cassandra Tollbring and Kristine Breistol played well in Romania, scoring eight and seven goals respectively, while it was a collective effort, rather than prolific scorers, which saw the hosts through.

A four-lead at the break gave Zalau some breathing space and although Larvik drew level at 17:17 early in the second half, the Romanian team restored their advantage and went on to clinch victory.

DHK Banik Most (CZE) vs H 65 Höörs HK (SWE) 19:31 (11:15)

Entering the match, both rivals had no hope left to advance from the group, so they could only fight for prestige.

Following the victory, Höör secured third place, while Most are now certain to finish bottom of the quartet.

The Czech side had fought hard in most of their previous games, and they lost by just one goal at Höör in the opening game, but a poor second half gave way to their biggest defeat of the campaign.

Simona Szarkova had another great game, finishing it with 11 goals, yet her effort was not enough for the visitors as the Swedish side dominated throughout the game and deservedly won.