Sixth win in a row brings Veszprém closer to second place

Veszprém’s five-game winning streak going into this game appeared certain to be extended as the Hungarian side faced a Brest team which had lost their last five away games by an average of 6.2 goals each, but the side from Belarus have dreams of a Last 16 and put in an impressive first quarter display before eventually trailing away in the second half to lose 28:20.

• Veszprém scored just once in the first 13 minutes, but came back in the second half, limiting Brest to 10 goals
• Borut Mackovsek, Andreas Nilsson and Kentin Mahe were Veszprém’s top scorers, with four goals apiece
• The Hungarian team will play their last group game against Kielce, while Brest host Kristianstad in a do-or-die game

GROUP A
Telekom Veszprém HC (HUN) vs HC Meshkov Brest (BLR) 28:20 (9:10)

Despite their poor away record Brest had their eyes on the fight for a Last 16 berth and needed to play their best game of the season if they were to beat the in-form Hungarian side. And they started well, restricting the home side to just one goals in the first 13 minutes. It had been full of misses from all their important players as Veszprém found themselves in a 5:1 rut early on following a 5:0 Brest run which left the home fans scratching their heads.

However, Veszprém, came back and cut the gap to just one goal at the break, 10:9, as the side from Belarus started to find scoring incredibly hard.

Victory! #WeAreVeszprem #HandballCity #AllReds pic.twitter.com/HvmvlNSqRd

— VeszprémHandballTeam (@mkbveszpremkc) February 24, 2019

With an amped up defence, Veszprém started to turn the game on its head, scoring from all positions, and they took a 16:14 lead with 20 minutes to go.

A 4:0 run spurred by line player Borut Mackovsek was the pivotal moment of the game, as Veszprém started to drift away, taking a commanding 21:16 lead. There was no coming back for the guests, who lost once again, 28:20, while Veszprém won their sixth consecutive game.

“We lost a big opportunity we had in the first half in the second half,” said Brest’s coach Manuel Cadenas. “We played well, and our goalkeeper saved well but our team should have played better and should have attacked better.”