Aalborg repeat win at Celje
After they won only two of seven home matches in the EHF Champions League 2019/20, hopes were high for rejuvenated RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko to start victorious. But, as they did one year ago, Aalborg took the points from Slovenia thanks to goalkeeper Simon Gade (10 saves) and fewer attacking mistakes.
GROUP B
RK Celje Pivovarna Laško (SLO) vs Aalborg Håndbold (DEN) 29:31 (16:15)
- Danish champions extended the series against the record Slovenian champions to four victories in five matches
- Aalborg sealed the deal when Sebastian Barthold scored for 30:26 and Gade saved two penalties. That four-goal distance was the biggest gap
- like Gade, newcomer Jonas Samuelsson had a perfect debut for Aalborg, netting five times. Top scorer Magnus Jensen scored seven from eight attempts
- Celje’s next top talent could be Tadej Kljun (19), who was his team’s top scorer with six strikes
Younger brothers shine at Celje
Celje were named the best talent mill of all EHF Champions League Men clubs and, though the Slovenian side were defeated, they proved their ability as a launching pad for top talents.
Mitja Janc, the 17-year-old brother of Blaz Janc (now Barça), had his Champions League debut against Aalborg. He was one of three younger brothers of former Celje players on court, alongside Gal Marguc (Veszprém’s Gasper Marguc) and David Razgor (former Meshkov Brest player Simon Razgor).
We have played a very controlled game at the beginning. We knew that Celje had some problems with injuries and that they will have troubles in the second part of the match. Celje pushed us behind with their 5-1 defence, but in the second half we increased tempo and pressure with seven-against-six and that was the decisive moment.
