Odense back on track; Brest and Györ victorious again

• Odense are back to winning ways after they lost to another Hungarian team Györi Audi ETO KC in the previous round
• the Danish team are ranked second in the group with 16 points, while DVSC are sixth-placed with nine points
• Despite a loss, DVSC secured a play-off spot, as they have a head-on-head advantage on Buducnost, who lost against Györ and stayed on three points
• Györ, who had already secured an early quarter-final spot, extended their winning run to 11 matches
• thanks to a strong comeback in the second half, Brest Bretagne Handball beat SG BBM Bietigheim and climbed to the third position in Group with 13 points
• in a hard-fought game, Krim Mercator Ljubljana defeated FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria away from home and made a big step towards securing a play-off spot

GROUP A

MOTW: DVSC Schaeffler (HUN) vs Odense Håndbold (DEN) 22:35 (12:15)

Odense were determined to bounce back from a defeat against Györ, so they demonstrated power and motivation from the opening minutes, taking a 12:3 lead 17 minutes into the match. By that time, DVSC's coach Zoltan Szilagyi had already taken two timeouts, finally managing to wake his team up and start closing the gap. Led by Greta Kacsor in attack, the Hungarian side enjoyed a good run and were down by just three goals at the break, which gave them a chance to mount a comeback. However, Odense were dominant after the restart, and although they had their ups and downs, the Danish team's win was hardly in danger. Mie Højlund became their best scorer with seven goals, and the visitors defended very well, conceding just four goals in the last 15 minutes. Kacsor netted nine times for DVSC, but her effort was not enough for any positive result, as Odense were overall a much better team.

Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) vs SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) 37:30 (13:17)

The French team claimed their fourth straight win and leapfrogged Bietigheim in the table, taking revenge on their German rivals for a 34:30 defeat in the Irish premier encounter of the season back in September. It was by no means an easy victory for Brest, who struggled for much of the game. Bieigheim won the first half and were still in front by four goals (23:19) in the 40th minute, but then the home team improved their game a lot and scored 18 goals in the remaining 20 minutes, conceding only seven. Valeriia Maslova and Pauletta Foppa ended the match with nine and eight goals respectively, while Brest's goalkeeper Julie Foggea contributed to the result with 11 saves.

WHC Buducnost BEMAX (MNE) vs Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) 21:29 13:17)

For Buducnost, taking points in this match was the last chance to stay in the race for a play-off spot. But obviously it was a very hard task, as although Györ had already secured an early quarter-final spot, they were eager to maintain their perfect record in the competition. The Hungarian heavyweights opened with an 8:3 lead in the 12th minute, but Buducnost did not give up and slashed the gap to just one goal, 10:9. However, Györ pulled clear again, and they had the game under their control until the end. As Ulrik Kirkely rotated his squad, 12 players of the Hungarian team scored at least once, with Ana Gros becoming a top scorer with five goals. Buducnost struggled in attack, just like in many previous matches, and they lost a chance to go through.

GROUP B

FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs Krim Mercator Ljubljana (SLO) 26:28 (14:17)

Both teams are fighting hard for a play-off spot, and it was Krim who grabbed the precious two points, making an important step towards progressing. Jovanka Radicevic, who had missed the previous match at Vipers, was back in action and scored twice, but some of her teammates deserved a bigger credit this time. In particular, Maja Vojnovic made 16 saves (41 per cent efficiency), while Daria Dmitrieva and Itana Grbic scored nine goals each. Dmitrieva, who will move to FTC in summer, was a big threat to her future team in the first half, as her seven goals lifted Krim to a three-goal lead. The Slovenian side continued to dominate after the restart, while FTC were missing their top scorer Andrea Lekic, who was sidelined through an injury. Still, the hosts fought until the end and used a 4:0 run to cut the deficit to one goal, 27:26, two minutes from full-time, yet Krim held their nerve and won.