Strong second half gives Saint-Raphael two points

After beating La Rioja last weekend, Hungarian side Balatonfüredi could not stop last season’s finalists Saint-Raphael Var Handball from taking a second set of two points in a week.

The defensive problems the French side experienced in the first half which saw them two goals down were corrected after the break as an important away win was secured, while the Hungarian side are without a point after three rounds.

• Saint-Raphael won their second game in a row in Hungary
• French side have four points, while Balatonfüredi lie on zero
• Saint-Raphael’s Caucheteux was the game’s top scorer with 10 goals while Balatonfüredi’s Balasz Szöllösi netted eight times

Group A
Balatonfüredi KSE (HUN) vs Saint-Raphael Var HB (FRA) 27:32 (18:16)

Despite missing some important players going into this Saturday afternoon clash, Saint-Raphael showed right from the start what their intentions were.

As soon as the clock started, their strong defence started giving them the opportunity to score easy goals on fast-breaks as they stretched to a four-goal (6:2) advantage thanks to winger Raphael Caucheteux, second of an eventual 10 strikes.

But the locals quickly-recovered from this blistering start from their opponents as four minutes later, after four straight goals, they made the score even with Dominik Mathe their most efficient asset, as he scored six times for the home side before the break and the team from France were unable to cope with his rhythm and went into the break two goals down to  Balatonfüredi 18:16.

But the start of the second half buried all Hungarian hopes of finishing the day with two points as following a non-scoring five-minute spell they gifted Saint-Raphael the chance to take the lead again and this time, last year’s finalists were not going to waste their advantage.

Relying on Caucheteux and youngster Aleksa Kolakovic, they sailed away. And 15 minutes before the end, the two points were already secured, as they could count on a seven-goal advantage (26:19).

The locals did their best to come back but could only narrow the gap to five in the end.

Photo: SRVHB Twitter