Rostov lead Group B after upsetting Kobenhavn

The bold debutant of the Women’s EHF Champions League, Kobenhavn Handball, started the tournament with two wins and hoped to continue this run against Rostov-Don. However, the Russian champions did better and deserved a six-goal win, 27:21.

• Rostov are now Group B leaders with five points
• Kobenhavn dropped first points in the competition
• Anna Vyakhireva scored a third of Rostov’s goals
• No Kobenhavn player scored more than four goals

GROUP B

Kobenhavn Handball (DEN) vs Rostov-Don (RUS) 21:27 (13:13).

Rostov enjoyed a strong start and despite missing two penalty shots, the Russian champions were impressively leading 7:2 after 10 minutes. 

Kobenhavn’s coach Klaus Mogensen then called for a timeout, which helped his team to improve their defence and start catching up. By the 23rd minute, the home side managed to draw level at 9:9.

Mayssa Pessoa’s saves helped Rostov to pull clear again, yet Kobenhavn did not give up. Two seconds from half-time, Hanna Blomstrand’s shot made the score 13:13.

Early in the second half, Debbie Bont put the hosts in front for the first time in the game (14:13). But the Russian side soon regained the initiative. Thanks to a strong performance by Anna Vyakhireva in attack, they kept a two to three-goal advantage until the 50th minute.

Late in the game, Kobenhavn looked tired and started to make more mistakes. The experienced Rostov players quickly capitalised on that, increasing the gap and ultimately grabbing two points.

While Vyakhireva finished the game with nine goals, Kobenhavn did not have such a strong leader. While 10 Kobenhavn players put their names on the scoresheet, the best scorer Debbie Bont netted just four times.