DAY REVIEW: Magdeburg impress in MOTW; Plock grab last play-off spot

Magdeburg not only won the MOTW, but also finished top of group B, as previously joined leaders Barça suffered their second home defeat of the season: 37:33 against Montpellier HB.

That result earned the French side fourth place in the group. GOG earlier won at RK Celje Pivovarna Laško, 34:30, but ultimately did not improve their ranking due to Montpellier's surprise win in Barcelona.

• thanks to Player of the Match Sergey Hernández’s 16 saves, Magdeburg won the last Match of the Week of the main round in Veszprém (30:28) and secured their quarter-final berth
• it marked the first-ever win for Magdeburg in Veszprém
• with Emil Madsen and Aaron Mensing both scoring nine, GOG took the points in Celje (34:30) but failed to overtake Montpellier in the race for the fourth place
• the French side created the sensation of the evening, keeping their fourth spot in the group thanks to their win on Barça’s court (37:34)
• Plock secured the last play-offs ticket at stake in the group by beating Porto in a nail-biter, 29:28

GROUP B

MOTW: Telekom Veszprém HC (HUN) vs SC Magdeburg (GER) 28:30 (14:14)

The situation before the MOTW was pretty simple: the winner would make it - with Barça - directly to the quarter-finals; in case of a draw, Magdeburg would advance. The German side, who had never before in an away match at Veszprém, started the game better, making the most of their opponents’ missed shots to score and take a three-goal lead in the first quarter. Thanks to Felix Claar’s first four of nine goals, SCM were leading 8:5 at the 14th minute. But the hosts quickly took back the advantage as the arrival of Agustín Casado on the court gave his team some fresh air. Veszprém even briefly took the lead before Oscar Bergendahl levelled at the break (14:14).

If the two teams remained neck to neck for 15 minutes, Magdeburg made the difference in the last quarter. With Sergey Hernndez, named the Player of the Match, making 16 saves at a 38% efficiency rate, the German side did not concede any goals for five minutes, enough to take a three-goal advantage. With Felix Claar still making a huge impression, the EHF Champions League titleholders were able to keep their nerves all the way until the final buzzer. Despite Ludovic Fabregas netting eight times, Veszprém were not able to come back once more and saw Magdeburg qualify straight for the quarter-finals, securing their spot among the top two teams in the group with their 12th straight victory in the competition, a record for the club.

RK Celje Pivovarna Laško (SLO) vs GOG (DEN) 30:34 (15:15)

Before throw-off, players from GOG knew what their mission was: to win in Celje in order to put pressure on Montpellier in their remote battle for fourth place. The first 10 minutes, in which the visitors had the momentum and an early two-goal lead, were not a clear picture of the whole first half. Thanks to Rok Zaponšek between the posts and to Mitja Janc’s six goals in the first part, Celje bounced back and even briefly took the lead. But thanks to Emil Madsen’s sixth goal, both teams were level at the break (15:15).

It seemed like the half-time break did some good to the Danish side, which came back stronger defensively. Thanks to a couple of saves from Tobias Thulin, it was able to take a three-goal advantage. With Aaron Mensing again in brilliant form, scoring nine overall, GOG were still well ahead with a couple of minutes left to go. Despite the hosts having a reaction and coming back within one, Emil Madsen, who also netted nine times, kept his team away from the danger of leaving a point in Slovenia.

Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) vs FC Porto (POR) 29:28 (14:15)

Porto had obviously understood their mission in Plock very well, as the winners of the game would secure the last play-off. Young line player David Dawydzik scored four, but that was not enough for Plock, as Porto could count on Nikolaj Laesøn. Thanks to their left back’s four goals, the visitors first took the advantage at the seventh minute, before being even ahead by two with the half-time in sight. It was only thanks to a last-second seven-meter throw by Miha Zarabec that Plock were down by one at the break.

The half-time break seemed to give the hosts a new lease of life. More efficient offensively, more aggressive defensively, they allowed Mirko Alilovic to make a couple of important saves. With Abel Serdio taking over on the line player position, Plock were three goals ahead, 13 minutes before the end. Porto did not want to let their qualification get away and Laeso and Antonio Areia tried their best to have their team come back. Though the Portuguese side narrowed the gap down to one, it was not able to make the score even, and Plock secured their play-off spot when Lovro Mihic scored his team’s last goal with less than a minute left to play.

Barça (ESP) vs Montpellier HB (FRA) 34:37 (19:18)

Both teams needed points in Palau Blaugrana, as Barça wanted to defend the first spot of the group while Montpellier could still make it into fourth place. With so much at stake, the fans in the arena witnessed a tight first half. Despite Dika Mem scoring six for the hosts, the French side was ahead more often than not, but never by more than one goal. Wingers Yanis Lenne and Jaime Fernandez were in the spotlight, both scoring four in the first half. But Barça turned things around when Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas made his entrance. With three saves within seven minutes, the goalkeeper gave the hosts a lead of one at the break.

But the momentum did not stay long in Barça’s camp. Thanks to their Brazilian left back Bryan Monte, who scored 10, Montpellier took over the lead as soon as the second half started. The French side made the most of their opponents’ turnovers to increase their advantage, as Jaime Fernandez and Yanis Lenne were pushing every ball to the maximum. The Barça players looked unusually unable to respond, as their defence was not fighting hard enough to contain the Montpellier offences. And when Monte gave the visitors a five-goal advantage at the 58th, it secured his team’s fourth place in the group, and sent Barça down to second place in group B.