The German side produced a vintage 15-minute performance to start the second half, yet it was not enough for surprising Rostov.

The Russian champions secured their second win of the season, 32:31, as the Bietigheim club are still winless after four games.

GROUP A

SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) vs Rostov-Don (RUS) 31:32 (16:17)

• a 5:0 run spurred by wings Kristina Kozhokar and Yulia Managarova, in which Rostov prevented Bietigheim from scoring for six minutes, seemed to be the building block for the Russian champions’ win
• yet Bietigheim bounced back with their own 6:1 run to start the second half, opening a 22:18 lead, as Rostov took an early timeout to weather the storm
• with ten players contributing with at least one goal scored on the scoresheet, Rostov beefed up their defence and turned the game on its head, securing their second win of the season
• Bietigheim’s losing streak is now five games – four of which this season – as the German side recorded their worst ever start in the DELO EHF Champions League
• scoring eight goals against Bietigheim, Anna Sen had her best outing in the European top competition in the last two years
• Rostov jumped to the second place in the standings, with five points, while Bietigheim are still last, winless after four rounds with a -21 goal difference.

Johansson works wonders in his debut

Rostov has a pattern for poor execution in the second half this season, as they did against Krim in the final seconds, but Per Johansson’s experience on the bench proved decisive in the debut for the Swedish ace as the team’s coach. The Russian side were four goals down in the 37^th minute, but fired from all cylinders to close a 32:31 win, with an impressive 67 per cent shooting efficiency.