Fight for semi-final berths goes down to the wire
All four second-leg matches of the EHF European Cup Men quarter-finals are scheduled for this weekend, and two of them will be held in Norway.
Title-holders Nærbø IL, who beat their Croatian rivals MRK Sesvete last week, hope to finish the job at home on Sunday.
- in Zagreb, Nærbø won 26:20, as their goalkeeper Halvor Elias Nærland stopped 10 balls for a 36 per cent save efficiency
- fellow Norwegian side Runar Sandefjord Elite also made a successful voyage, beating HCB Karvina in Czech Republic 34:31. On Sunday, the two are set to meet again in Sandefjord
- if both Nærbø and Sandefjord progress, they will face each other in a Norwegian derby in the semi-final
- Sweden's Alingsås HK, who defeated HK Dukla Praha at home 39:33, will try to defend their advantage in the Czech Republic on Sunday
- Dukla need to stop Johan Nilsson, who played a crucial role in Alingsås' first-leg victory with his 10 goals
Velenje looking for home revenge
While three Nordic sides have a good chance to reach the semi-final, the Balkan duel between Slovenia's RK Gorenje Velenje and Serbia's Vojvodina is still very open.
In the first leg, a late 3:0 run helped Vojvodina to snatch a 31:30 win on home court. However, this Saturday the rivals will meet in Slovenia, and Velenje are looking for a revenge which will see them progress.
