Dramatic finish sees FTC edge PAUC for Last 16 berth

GROUP B

Ystads IF HF (SWE) vs Valur (ISL) 33:35 (13:21)

An outstanding comeback from Ystads might not have saved two points for the Swedish side but did enough damage to prevent a rout, which could have seen Valur leapfrog the hosts in the final standings. The Icelandic side had a flawless first half, leading by as many as eight goals at the break, 21:13, and looked in firm control of the game. However, Ystads bounced back and scored 20 goals in the second half, as backs Jonathan Svensson and Kim Andersson and line player Anton Mansson scored seven goals. Ystads even took the lead, 32:31, with six minutes to go, but eventually conceded a 35:33 loss. Yet they still finished second in the group, as they held the tiebreaker against Valur after their 32:29 loss five rounds ago in Iceland.

PAUC Handball (FRA) vs TM Benidorm (ESP) 39:29 (17:14)

PAUC were on the back foot, entering the match with a five-game losing streak, and only a big win, combined with an FTC loss would have seen them through. The French side played their part, albeit with a slow start, which saw Benidorm, who were already eliminated, trying to keep close. Slowly but surely, PAUC saw their lead grow on the back of an excellent performance from right wing Gabriel Loesch, who scored ten times. A 6:2 start of the second half cemented PAUC’s win, with the French side sealing a 39:29 win. However, it was too little, too late, as their victory was not enough due to FTC’s draw against Flensburg, and PAUC exited the EHF European League Men in the group phase for the second season in a row.

FTC (HUN) vs SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) 27:27 (15:13)

Group winners Flensburg had previously lost a single game from the first nine matches but were without the MVP of the EHF EURO 2022, Jim Gottfridsson, and goalkeeper Kevin Møller, both injured; they had a rough first half, never coming into the lead. Moreover, in the 34th minute, FTC boasted a five-goal lead, 19:14, and looked in firm control of the match, especially as the pace was down, unusual for a game played by the Hungarian side, who conceded the second-largest number of goals in the competition in the first nine rounds. But Flensburg went on a 6:0 unanswered run and was set to deliver a masterstroke of a comeback, leaving FTC out of the competition on goal difference. It would have gone to goal difference, and the Hungarian side was out, but Bence Nagy and Alex Bognar scored twice in the last 28 seconds, with Bognar’s goal coming in the last second of the match. FTC scrapped a point and progressed to the Last 16 in the most dramatic fashions, boasting a one-point advantage ahead of PAUC, with their third draw in ten matches.