A trip to Porto has never been an easy one, and Veszprém were well aware of that ahead of the throw-off in Portugal. But focus throughout the game helped them take their second win of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League season.
Veszprém managed to keep their opponents’ momentum to a minimum in the first 15 minutes of the game, and with all their experience, they started to stretch out just before the break.
Petar Nenadic was the detonator for Veszprém in the first half. Once they had taken the advantage, Veszprém never let it go, making it grow to as many as 10 goals in the middle of the second half to secure an straightforward win.
GROUP A
FC Porto (POR) vs Telekom Veszprém (HUN) 28:35 (12:16)
- while Porto did a good job at preventing Veszprém from taking the upper hand, Petar Nenadic unlocked everything for the Hungarian side. Five goals in 10 minutes from the Serbian playmaker, and the visitors were well ahead at the break
- once they took the lead, Veszprém increased it, making it 10 goals 10 minutes before the end, thanks to Nenadic again
- Porto appeared, in comparison, to have no answer to the problems that were set by their opponents, with only Jack Thurin finding the net more than five times for the hosts
- however, Porto did salvage some pride in the last four minutes when they scored three times to slightly narrow the gap – although it was far too late to hope for even a draw
- Veszprém are now sole leader of the group with four points, while Porto remain at the bottom with no points
The weight of experience
The 36-year-old Serbian centre back Nenadic might not be able to play 60 minutes in a single game anymore. But he still has an eye and an arm and, in handball, that might be the most important.
On Wednesday night, Nenadic entered the court after 15 minutes, and immediately changed the face of his team. Focusing solely on attack, Nenadic printed his own rhythm on the game to lead Veszprém to a second victory.