Rostov book ticket to main round
After beating Kobenhavn Handball in Denmark 27:21 two weeks ago, Rostov-Don followed it up with another win against the same opponent, 30:25, to secure their progression to the next stage with two matches to spare.
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Rostov top the group with seven points
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Kobenhavn stay second, but they may be surpassed by Brest play against Savehof on Sunday
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Iuliia Managarova, Polina Kuznetsova and Anna Vyakhireva scored six goals each for Rostov
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Andrea Hansen was Kobenhavn's top scorer with five goals
GROUP B
Rostov-Don (RUS) vs Kobenhavn Handball (DEN) 30:25 (15:10)
The home side enjoyed a better start and were up 2:0 five minutes into the match, but Kobenhavn quickly woke up and took a 3:2 lead.
However, Rostov were more efficient in attack and better in defence. Their 4:0 run in just two minutes was impressive and saw the Russian champions pull clear at 8:4.
In the first half, Iuliia Managarova netted six times, while Mayssa Pessoa made some spectacular saves, allowing Rostov to hold a 15:10 lead at the break.
Two early goals in the second half seemed to give the visitors some fresh impetus. However, Anna Vyakhireva, who missed many attempts before the break, soon helped Rostov to restore a five-goal advantage.
Soon afterwards, her elder sister Polina Kuznetsova scored four times in just three minutes, forcing Kobenhavn’s coach Claus Mogensen to call his third time-out already in the 41st minute, with the score at 22:13.
Kobenhavn continued to fight and performed well in the final quarter, but could not stop Rostov from claiming another victory.
“It was not easy to play against the champions of Denmark, against such a strong style of handball.
“These four points are really important for us. Now we need to score more points before going to the next round,” said Rostov coach Ambros Martin after the victory.
TEXT:
Sergey Nikolaev / cor