Sporting snatch quarter-final ticket; Berlin finish third

The last night of the group phase matches was packed with drama. Sporting were second in the group prior to round 14, but the Portuguese side almost lost it all in Plock, drawing at the last second (29:29) and securing second place in the end.

Berlin, who defeated Veszprém away, moved up a place to finish third — just above Paris Saint-Germain, despite the French side winning easily in Pelister, 35:26. While Paris will face Szeged in the play-offs, Berlin will have to beat Kielce to progress to the quarter-finals.

In the last game of the evening, Dinamo Bucuresti secured fifth place by winning in Fredericia, versus the debut team of the season, who were already out before round 14. Dinamo will meet SC Magdeburg in the play-offs. 

• Dinamo Bucuresti secured fifth place in the group after taking the two points in Fredericia, 37:32
• Füchse Berlin caused the sensation of the evening by winning in Veszprém, 33:32
• Tim Freihöfer was Füchse’s hero, scoring nine, including the game winner at the last second
• after being down by five, Sporting saved their second place at the last second, taking a 29:29 draw in Plock
• while Orri Þorkelsson scored the equaliser, Martim Costa netted 10 times for Sporting
• despite their win in Pelister, 35:26, PSG fell to fourth place, as the losing side in the three-way tie with Sporting and Berlin

GROUP A

One Veszprém HC (HUN) vs Füchse Berlin (GER) 32:33 (16:17)

It took six minutes for Veszprém, who were already confirmed as group winners, to score their first goal. By then, Berlin had already netted three times. While Füchse took the upper hand quickly, with Mijajlo Marsenic scoring four in the first eight minutes, the hosts reacted and evened the score thanks to Aron Palmarsson, 4:4. But Berlin kept their momentum throughout most of the first half. Dejan Milosavljev, with his four saves in the opening, helped the visitors’ advantage grow to four goals at the 17th minute. A wisely taken timeout by Veszprém gave the hosts the opportunity to close the gap, and they levelled the score a couple of minutes later. The first half remained a close call, and it was only logical that Berlin headed to the dressing room leading by one (17:16).

The break did not allow the hosts to gather their thoughts. Still experiencing some trouble to score, the group leaders were also unable to stop their opponents. Lasse Andersson in particular was on fire, scoring eight, while Mathias Gidsel took things in hand in the last quarter. Gidsel netted three goals in a row at the start of the last 10 minutes to put the German side up by four. But just as it seemed Berlin were going to take a surprise win, things started to go the home side’s way. With Dragan Pechmalbec putting an extra effort, Veszprém came back within one with 90 seconds to play, and even levelled the score 15 seconds before the end. But Tim Freihöfer did not shake when he had the opportunity to score the game-winner on the buzzer, netting his ninth goal to secure the two points for his team.

Fredericia Håndbold Klub (DEN) vs Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU) 32:37 (14:16)

Despite being already out, Fredericia gave Dinamo a good run for their money on Thursday night. One fact tells you how close the first half of the game was: Neither team was able to take an advantage bigger than two goals before the break. With Frederik Jægerum at the wheel, the hosts were ahead through most of the start, but never managed to shake their opponents’ resistance. The Romanian side finished the first half in style. Taking the momentum after the 20th minute, they proved better in the second part of the half. Thanks to two saves from Ionut Iancu and a steal from Branko Vujovic, Bucharest made it to the break with a two-goal lead (16:14).

The visitors stepped up a level in the second half. With Haniel Langaro and Stanislav Kasparek both netting five times, the Romanian grew their advantage. Four goals at the 33rd minute, five six minutes later — it felt like Dinamo were cruising to an easy win, as Fredericia did not seem to be able to react. But the Romanian side slowed their rhythm, allowing a chance for their opponents. As Kasper Palmar netted penalties one after the other, the hosts narrowed the gap to two goals with seven minutes to play. But Dinamo reclaimed the game in the last five minutes, as Vujovic scored two straight goals to take a win that helped them secure fifth spot in the group.

Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) vs Sporting CP (POR) 29:29 (17:15)

It only took six minutes for Wisla Plock to break away in the first half. While the teams were neck-and-neck for 15 minutes, the hosts pushed after a timeout to take a four-goal advantage. Mirko Alilovic was key for the Polish side, as his five saves gave the opportunity to his teammates to run fast breaks. Miha Zarabec made the most of it, scoring five in the first half alone to give Plock a maximum advantage of four goals. Sporting, at the other end, were unusually slow to react. Only Martim Costa and Mamadou Gassama were able to find solutions offensively and, at the break, the visitors were down by two, 17:15.

Plock even increased their advantage in the second half, with Zarabec proving unstoppable. The Slovenian playmaker and Gergö Fazekas scored a combined 17 goals, and for a long time, it seemed like Sporting would lose it all in Plock. But the last quarter was all in favour of the Portuguese side. Little by little, helped by the impressive performance from Martim Costa (10 goals), Sporting made up the deficit. They were still down by one at the beginning of the last minute, but Mohamed Aly stopped a seven-metre throw from Zarabec. Plock lost the ball with five seconds left to play and Orri Þorkelsson did not waste the opportunity to even the score, 29:29 — securing a historic quarter-final qualification for the Portuguese side.

HC Eurofarm Pelister (MKD) vs Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA) 26:35 (13:18)

Needing a win to keep their direct quarter-final chances alive, Paris started the game with their foot to the pedal. With Dani Baijens and his two goals, the French side were already up by three with four minutes played. But after a few minutes, the hosts found their rhythm. Filip Kuzmanovski was elemental in this process, as the Pelister back scored six in the first half alone. By the time Kuzmanovski had scored his fifth, his team were back within one. The momentum did not stay with the Macedonian side for long though. Still pushing every ball offensively, with the impact of Yahia Omar, PSG broke away again right before the break, which they reached a five-goal lead, 18:13.

What the team from Bitola were able to do in the first half — come back from a four-goal deficit — they did not achieve after the break. Instead, Paris kept on pushing and increased their lead to seven goals with still 18 minutes left to play. With 10 saves, Andreas Palicka was the main protagonist in Paris’ breakaway, but the fact he left the court after an injury did not change anything in the course of the game. Palicka’s team were already firmly in control, and with Elohim Prandi in top form (eight goals), the French side were never to be caught again.