It looked like Krim were done and dusted but they bounced back admirably against Rostov to take a 28:27 win, their second of the season in the DELO EHF Champions League.

The win brought an end to a seven-game stretch in which Krim did not win but the Slovenian side are still seventh in the group with seven points, while Rostov top the standings with 15 points.

GROUP A

RK Krim Mercator (SLO) vs Rostov-Don (RUS) 28:27 (17:15)

• this was Krim’s best performance in the first half of a DELO EHF Champions League game since November 2016, in the main round game against Larvik, when the Slovenian side also scored 17 goals
• an unusual off night for Rostov’s right back, Anna Vyakhireva, who scored only four goals from 13 shots, saw the Russian side reeling and their attacking efficiency dropping to 50 per cent in the first half
• Rostov’s left wing Polina Kuznetsova had her best outing in the last ten years in the DELO EHF Champions League, scoring eight goals
• an 8:2 run spurred by right wing, Iuliia Managarova, Vyakhireva and Kuznetsova, who combined for six goals early in the second half, turned the game on its head and handed Rostov a lead that looked enough, 24:21
• Rostov remain first in the group, with the slightest of leads over Metz and FTC

Unfocused Rostov pay the price

A team that is looking likely to contend for the title in Budapest come May, Rostov-Don let their guard down and disregarded a plucky Krim side, when they went up 24:21, with 13 minutes to go.

However, a two-pronged attack relying on backs Oceane Sercien Ugolin and Matea Pletikosic, who combined for 13 goals and four of Krim’s last six goals, got the Slovenian side back into the game and helped them take a superb win.

The hosts are unbeaten this season against Rostov, taking a point in the last second in the first game which ended 23:23.