Valur crowned EHF European Cup winners following a penalty shoot-out

FINAL, LEG 2

Olympiacos SFP (GRE) vs Valur (ISL) 35:32 (31:27) (16:11)

Valur win on aggregate (62:61)

• motivated hosts started the match on the front foot inspired by the hectic atmosphere in the stands and established full control over the result early into the return leg
• Zeljko Babic-led squad took a five-goal lead (10:5) for the first time in the 19^th minute and then, successfully kept the advantage safe until the break
• Konstantinos Kotanidis made seven saves in the first half and noted high (41.18) percentage of save efficiency, which helped his teammates in crucial moments to keep the hard-earned lead going into the half-time, while the excellent goalkeeper added another five in the second half, being one of Olympiacos SFP's key players
• Savvas Savvas finished the season as the undisputed top scorer in the EHF European Cup Men as the Olympiacos SFP's left back scored 10 goals in the return leg and thus, scored 81 goals overall, but ended the final in tears as he hit the post with the last shot in regular time and then, missed the final penalty in the shoot-out
• Olympiacos SFP held their biggest (eight-goal) lead (24:16) in the 42^nd minute, but Valur fought hard to narrow down the difference, mount a comeback and thus, to set up a dramatic finish
• with 17 seconds on the clock in regular time, Olympiacos SFP were on the brink of being crowned champions as they held a five-goal lead (31:26), but Magnús Óli Magnússon scored before the final whistle to take the final to the penalty shoot-out

Valur's iron mentality spoils the party in Piraeus

The Reykjavik-based club became the first-ever Icelandic side to win the EHF European Cup Men as Óskar Bjarni Óskarsson and his squad survived the extremely-difficult test in the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Greece to lift the trophy. Even though the few thousand passionate supporters who filled in the stands in red and white created an amazing atmosphere, Valur displayed strong determination to mount a comeback in the second half and then, lift the trophy despite the noisy surroundings. Valur finished the season in the EHF's third-tier competition with only the defeat from the return leg in Piraeus, but in the end, it proved to be their sweetest loss as they won the final and wrote history in the end.