AEK Athens HC and HC Alkaloid reach EHF European Cup final

AEK Athens HC qualified for the EHF European Cup Men final for the first time since 2021, despite losing the second leg 28:24 against HC Izvidac in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their opponents will be HC Alkaloid, who had to go the extra mile, beating Runar Sandefjord in a penalty shootout.

• AEK Athens HC started Saturday’s second leg with a nine-goal advantage after beating HC Izvidac a week earlier by 37:28 in Greece
• both teams struggled offensively in the first half of the return leg, scoring below 50 per cent; additionally, the goalkeepers on both sides were great in the first 30 minutes, with Yann Genty saving nine shots for AEK and Haris Suljevic stopping seven for Izvidac
• after the hosts secured a 13:12 half-time lead, they pulled away to three goals in front, which did not last too long; after the EHF European Cup top scorer Diano Neris Cesko (HC Izvidac) got disqualified from the game at the 38-minute-mark, AEK came back to within one goal
• six minutes before the end, Izvidac extended their lead to five goals, but their run came too late, as their 28:24 win was not enough to erase the nine-goal deficit
• HC Alkaloid secured the other ticket to the final following an intense match in Norway against Runar Sandefjord

Thriller in Norway sees guests go through

HC Alkaloid and Runar Sandefjord met in Norway after an offensive show-off in the first leg, which saw Alkaloid win 42:37 last week. On Sunday, Runar had the optimal start to mount a comeback, boasting a four-goal lead at the break, but Alkaloid managed to cut the deficit throughout the second half and kept the score neck-and-neck on aggregate in the last five minutes of the match. 

Martin Ivanovski’s goal to make it 34:29 for the hosts in the final minute meant that a penalty shootout had to decide the second finalists. The hosts were nervous, missing three out of four shots, with Alkaloid netting three times to advance to the final against AEK Athens HC.

Photos © HC Izvidac