DAY REVIEW 2: Flensburg confirm main round ticket, three teams out of the race

In group E SG Flensburg-Handewitt are the seventh team to secure the main round berth after their second convincing win against Elverum Handball. IFK Kristianstad and HC Alkaloid were not so lucky as their fate was sealed after new defeats. Consequently, the two teams have no chance of progressing further and their EHF European League Men story will end after six rounds played. The same goes for Kriens-Luzern who had to settle for a draw against Górnik Zabrze after a great performance by Marin Šipic and Andy Schmid.

REBI Balonmano Cuenca escaped an early elimination after a comeback against Gorenje and celebrated their first win this season. After an exciting match and a narrow defeat in Serbia, Vojvodina geared up and got their revenge against BM Logroño La Rioja. Sporting CP beat Tatabanya and made a quest for the main round place even more interesting in group H.

FROM THE TOP 5 MATCHES

Group A: HBC Nantes (FRA) vs IFK Kristianstad (NOR) 31:27 (16:16)

Nantes secured their second straight win and eliminated Kristianstad from the main round race. It looked like Nantes have everything in their hands mid-first half with the help of Valero Rivera's six goals. However, Kristiansand wanted to keep their hopes alive and found new energy after Victor Bang saved four out of five shots. The same trend continued until the 40th minute when Jorge Maqueda and Thibaud Briet turned the game into their show and secured an important win for Nantes. 

Group B: HC Kriens-Luzern (SUI) vs Górnik Zabrze (POL) 30:30 (15:14)

It was all or nothing for Kriens-Luzern who had to win in order to keep their main round hopes alive and to get revenge for last week's 28:32 defeat. Górnik Zabrze made them sweat, especially the goalkeeper Piotr Wyszomirski who had above 46 per cent save efficiency after 40 minutes of play. Andy Schmid and Marin Šipic scored 17 between them but their excellence was not enough for Kriens to catch up with the opponent's three-goal lead mid second half. Taras Minotskyi with nine goals helped Górnik Zabrze to protect their second position in group B.

Group F: BM Logroño La Rioja (ESP) vs Vojvodina (SRB) 29:32 (15:17)

Only a week after a narrow 24:25 defeat at home, Vojvodina came out victorious from Palacio de los deportes de la Rioja. Their blistering start to the second half paved them the way to a convincing win in Spain. Only seven minutes after the break, they had a six-goal lead. Experienced Barys Pukhouski led the pack as Vojvodina made the most out of La Rioja's mistakes. However, the home team managed to narrow the gap in the end through fast breaks and few Mohamed Aly's saves.

Group H: Sporting CP (POR) vs MOL Tatabanya KC (HUN) 36:28 (17:14)

Tatabanya will remember the names Natan Suarez, Edney Silva and Orri Freyr Þorkelsson. The first two were unstoppable in the first half, netting 11 out of Sporting's 17 goals. Þorkelsson joined the duo and gave the final touch to a more than assured win with his six goals. Converting only 60 per cent of shots throughout shows all of Tatabanya's problems in attack. Sporting did a good job in defence, stopping Mateo Maras from easily scoring. With Sporitng's win, all is open in group H.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

• the 38:35 win against Elverum Handball pushed SG Flensburg-Handewitt through to the main round, making them the fourth German team to achieve it in round 4, alongside TSV Hannover-Burgdorf, Rhein-Neckar Löwen and Füchse Berlin 
• Lukas Jørgensen took the spotlight in Flensburg's important victory, netting 12 times
• Bjerringbro-Silkeborg once again left Alkaloid desperate; a 6-0 goal run at the start of the second half made everything clear in the game alongside Mikkel Møller Løvkvist's 18 saves at 37.5 per cent save efficiency
• Ignacio Pizarro and Rudolph Hackbarth were Cuenca's top scorers, each scoring five times, in their first win of the season which also kept them in the game for the main round place
• Tilen Sokolic was once again the Slovenian side's best player with seven goals; Gorenje Velenje still hold the second spot in the group despite defeat in Spain

Main photo: Ingrid Anderson-Jensen