GROUP B REVIEW: A 10-minute period without conceding in the first half was enough for Veszprém to avenge last week's loss against Motor
Last week, HC Motor upset Telekom Veszprém HC in the EHF Champions League Men by playing super slowly and preventing the Hungarian side from finding their own rhythm in the game for 60 minutes.
On Thursday evening, Motor could only do it for 15 minutes until the hosts put their hands on the wheel and took control. A 10-minute period without conceding a goal was enough for Petar Nenadic and his teammates to create a seven-goal gap on their way to a 36:29 victory.
GROUP B
Telekom Veszprém HC (HUN) vs HC Motor (UKR) 36:29 (18:13)
- a 10-minute scoring drought for Motor changed the course of the of the first half. The visitors were ahead by one after 15 minutes but found themselves trailing by seven 10 minutes later
- Andreas Nilsson had time to score four times in the first half, and Rodrigo Corrales also took the opportunity to shine. Helped by his defence, Veszprém’s Spanish goalkeeper stopped seven shots in the first half
- Veszprém controlled the second part of the game, with Momir Ilic opening up his bench without his team’s performance declining. The Hungarian side took a maximum advantage of nine goals in the 51th minute
- Gasper Marguc was the best scorer of the game with nine goals for Veszprém, while Viachaslau Bokhan netted eight times for Motor
- Veszprém, who now have 10 points, moved past Barça to claim second spot in the group. Motor are now sixth, with six points
Veszprém – 10 perfect minutes and the points are in the bag
After 15 minutes, you would have been forgiven if you thought that Veszprém would end up in the same situation as the round 7 clash between the two teams.
Struggling to score, the Hungarian side trailed 8:7 and things did not look promising. But Motor then missed a beat or two, Rodrigo Corrales pulled out three key saves, and Petar Nenadic and Andreas Nilsson showed no mercy. From 8:9, the score turned to 16:9, and the two points were in the bag for the hosts.
TEXT:
EHF / Kevin Domas