Everything still open after Veszprém edge Berlin

QUARTER-FINALS, FIRST LEG

One Veszprém (HUN) vs Füchse Berlin (GER) 35:34 (17:20)

H2H: 3-0-4
Top scorers: Ivan Martinović and Hugo Descat (Veszprém) 8 goals ; Mathias Gidsel (Berlin) 13 goals

• making the most of every fastbreak possibilities, Berlin took an early three-goals lead but could not keep it, as Ahmed Hesham made the score even again within the first 10 minutes
• as Lasse Andersson and Mathias Gidsel took control of things, scoring a combined 12 in the first half alone, Füchse took the upper hand to go back to the dressing room leading by three
• Berlin took a maximum advantage of five goals at various points in the second half, as their opponents proved unable to score and suffered too many turnovers
• with the help of Mikael Appelgren’s saves, the hosts stole the momentum again, making the score even at minute 48th before Stefan Dodić put them ahead for the first time of the game eight minutes before the siren
• thanks to four Ivan Martinović’s goals in the last six minutes, the hosts were able to retain their advantage to finally win by one
• Berlin’s Mathias Gidsel was the best scorer of the game with 13 goals, the only player to score more than 10 goals
• this victory was the first for Veszprém against Berlin this season, after the two the German side recorded in the group phase
• two teams will face each other next Wednesday in the German capital city

Mikael Appelgren, better late than never

One Veszprém coach Xavi Pascual changed his goalkeepers twice in the first half alone, highlighting his team’s struggles in defence. However, these substitutions did little to change the course of the game at that stage, as the Hungarian side conceded 20 goals in the first half and as many as 26 in the opening 40 minutes.

But, somewhat surprisingly, it was a goalkeeper who ultimately changed the course of the game for the hosts. Mikael Appelgren stepped up when his team was trailing by five goals, making nine saves in the final 20 minutes, including a crucial seven-metre save with less than two minutes remaining. That proved enough to help his team secure the win, even if it was by the narrowest of margins.