Kielce celebrate again, Montpellier cruise past Zagreb

• Kielce made it double, defeating GOG for the second time in as many legs, thanks to Andreas Wolff making 10 saves
• Montpellier had to wait until the second half to finally take the upper hand on Zagreb (30:24), as the Croatian side offered an impressive resistance
• having scored six goals, Montpellier's Stas Skube was elected Player of the Match
• in the quarter-finals, Montpellier will face THW Kiel while Kielce will play against Aalborg

PLAY-OFFS, RETURN LEG

Industria Kielce (POL) vs GOG (DEN) 33:28 (16:12)

(Kielce win on aggregate 66:53)

If Kielce visibly had the upper hand in the first leg last Wednesday, the start of the second leg was a much tighter affair. With both defences looking good early on, GOG took the first two-goal advantage of the evening within the first five minutes. But while the hosts managed to keep up their defensive level high for the whole first half, the visitors struggled to maintain their rhythm. Alex Dujshebaev was too quick and the arrival of Dylan Nahi gave Kielce a huge boost. The French left wing scored four goals within 15 minutes while Andreas Wolff made 10 saves to put Kielce ahead by four at the break (16:12).

While GOG managed not to let their opponents break away right after half-time, they were not able to close the gap either. Aaron Mensing, who scored six, did his best to help his team, but Kielce remained in control. Sandro Mestric picked up exactly where Andreas Wolff had left things, as the Croatian goalkeeper made nine saves to keep last season's finalists in the lead. The hosts finally broke away again in the last 10 minutes to win by five in the end, their biggest lead of the game.

Montpellier HB (FRA) vs HC Zagreb (CRO) 30:24 (14:14)

(Montpellier win on aggregate 57:51)

The first leg of the confrontation was a very tight one, and the second leg played on Wednesday was no different. Never did either team have a bigger advantage than two goals in the first half and, perhaps surprisingly, it was Zagreb that had the upper hand in the first minutes. Helped by Matej Mandic's saves, the Croatian side played with full intensity, putting their hosts under pressure. And while Montpellier were struggling, down by two after 10 minutes, Rémi Desbonnet replaced Charles Bolzinger between their posts helping them find composure again. Thanks to Yanis Lenne and Sebastian Karlsson, the French side made the score level at the break (14:14).

It only took eight minutes for Montpellier to take the upper hand in the second half. Between minutes 33 and 41, the hosts only conceded one goal while scoring six, increasing their defensive intensity to the point where Milos Kos and Luka Lovre Klarica could not find solutions. In the meantime, Sebastian Karlsson was pushing every ball and, a few minutes later, the Swedish right wing put the French side four goals ahead. Zagreb were clearly out of fuel in the second half, while Montpellier kept on increasing their advantage all the way to six goals in the end.