Brest tie record with clear win against Podravka
After replacing coach Neven Hrupec with Antonio Pranjic, Podravka failed to turn the tide against Brest, conceding a clear 22:35 loss.
Brest tied their record for the largest win in the DELO EHF Champions League, with a complete attacking performance, their best of the season.
GROUP A
Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) vs HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO) 35:22 (17:9)
- it was the third consecutive loss for Podravka in the DELO EHF Champions League, leaving them in seventh place in the standings
- a 7:2 run in the first half was the backbone of Brest’s win, as they swiftly jumped to a healthy 12:5 lead
- Kalidiatou Niakate scored Brest’s 1,500th goal in the European premium competition, with the 21st goal in the game for the French side
- line player Pauletta Foppa was Brest’s top scorer, with seven goals, two shy of her tally in the first three rounds
- Brest’s previous largest-win record was set in November 2019 against SCM Ramnicu Valcea, 37:24
Podravka’s woes come to the surface
Podravka’s start to the season has been far from ideal, with three losses on the trot in the DELO EHF Champions League and a painful defeat in the Croatian domestic league against rivals Lokomotiva Zagreb. That 17:25 result prompted the firing of head coach Neven Hrupec.
But from the looks of it, the problems are systemic, as the Croatian side cannot simply contain their opponents. They have conceded 126 goals in four rounds of the DELO EHF Champions League, the second highest average of goals conceded per game in the competition, 31.5 goals per game.
We played a great game, we were strong in defence, we were able to play fast and score a lot of goals on fastbreak. But we are still a team in search of stability with a lot of young players who lack collective experience.
We made a lot of mistakes in attack and defence, especially in the first half. We did not do what was planned, we had no solutions to the attack in Brest. The focus and energy weren't there to stop a team like that.
