Kielce end Kolstad's hopes; Magdeburg edge out Barça in MOTW

Barça, though, are officially through to the quarter-finals no matter the results of the last round next week. That three-way tie can of course only happen if Barça lose and Veszprém beat Magdeburg in their direct encounter, but even in that case, Barça would finish second, as Veszprém would lead the 'mini table' with six points, followed by the Spanish side on four, and Magdeburg on two.

In group A, THW Kiel and Aalborg Håndbold are the confirmed quarter-finalists, while OTP Bank - Pick Szeged and HC Zagreb claim the last two play-off spots, after Zagreb downed Paris Saint-Germain Handball 28:26 and Kolstad Handball lost at Industria Kielce, 31:23.

In group B, Orlen Wisla Plock and FC Porto will duel next week for the last play-off spot.

• Kolstad struggled to get past Andreas Wolff, who stopped 14 shots for Kielce and led his team to the win (31:23), forcing the Norwegian side out of the play-off race
• Paris let their hopes of a direct quarter-final entry disappear in Zagreb, as the Croatian side relied on Luka Lovre Klarica scoring 10 to take a 28:26 win and confirm the Croatian side's place in the play-offs
• Veszprém took 30 minutes to overcome Montpellier’s resistance but left France victorious, 37:31
• Magdeburg remained unbeaten at home thanks to Gísli Kristjánsson’s buzzer beater which gave them the win in the MOTW against Barça (29:28), as well as owning himself the Player of the Match award

HC Zagreb (CRO) vs Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA) 28:26 (13:13)

The fact that Thursday night was probably Nikola Karabatic’s last visit to the Zagreb Arena made the local fans turn up in numbers. And what they saw was a very even first half, as both teams played eye to eye during the first 30 minutes. While Luka Lovre Klarica took on scoring duties, the Croatian defence managed to neutralise Luc Steins, Paris’ playmaker. As a consequence, the hosts took the lead early on, even missing an opportunity to lead by three when Igor Mandic hit the crossbar from his own goal. If Paris managed to gather themselves, both teams were still level at the break (13:13).

The France side might have taken the best restart, thanks to line player Kamil Syprzak, but their momentum did not last long. Following the same recipe in the second half, which means giving the ball to Luka Lovre Klarica and watching him do wonders, Zagreb took the upper hand again. And when the right-back scored his ninth personal goal on a fastbreak, the hosts were up by two with 15 minute left. And in a tight end of the game, Zagreb’s goalkeeper Matej Mandic made the difference. With three stops in the last five minutes, he allowed his team to take two points that secure their presence in the play-offs for the first time since 2021.

Industria Kielce (POL) vs Kolstad Handball (NOR) 31:23 (13:10)

Playing under the pressure of elimination did not seem to bother Kolstad’s players too much, as the Norwegian side took the best start in the game. Helped by their goalkeeper Torbjørn Bergerud, the visitors briefly took a two-goal advantage before things were made even. But Kielce turned things around, improving defensively and helping Andreas Wolff making nine saves in the first half alone. As Kolstad were struggling to get past him, Dylan Nahi and Alex Dujshebaev scored a combined seven goals to put the hosts ahead by three at the break. Kielce made the difference right after coming back from the dressing rooms.

Scoring a 5:1 series, the Polish side were seven goals up at the 37th minute, thanks to three consecutive goals by the Dujshebaev brothers. And once it got the momentum, it never let it go. Despite opening up his bench in the second half, coach Talant Dujshebaev enjoyed Kielce playing on a very regular level, taking a first eight-goal lead at the 51th minute and never letting Kolstad back into the game.

MOTW: SC Magdeburg (GER) vs Barça (ESP) 29:28 (13:14)

If Barça seemed to have the upper hand for most of the first half, this domination did not really translate on the scoreboard at half-time. Despite Emil Nielsen stopping nine shots at a 40% efficiency rate, the visitors only managed to lead by one at the break. Barça took the momentum early, displaying some impressive defensive force to lead by three at the 22nd minute. But Magdeburg came back in only eight minutes, matching their opponents’ defensive performance and being led by Albin Lagergren and Daniel Pettersson, who netted right on the buzzer to bring back his team in the race.

Barça seemed to take the upper hand again in the second half, especially thanks to Luís Frade. Barça’s Portuguese line player scored eight times and offered his team a four-goal advantage at the 38th, which later proved to be not enough. Because SCM reacted, and they delivered an impressive last quarter. With Nikola Portner back between the posts, the German side stepped up a gear defensively. And scoring five straight goals between minutes 38 and 43, it took back the lead, heading to a money-time in which every team had its chance. The last attempt landed on Gísli Kristjánsson, and Magdeburg’s left-back did not let it go, throwing the ball past Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas and making it double: two points for his team and a Player of the Match award for himself.

Montpellier HB (FRA) vs Telekom Veszprém HC (HUN) 31:37 (18:17)

If you only watched the first 20 minutes of the game, you probably got the wrong impression that Veszprém were going to take another easy victory. But just like in the first confrontation between the two sides this season, Montpellier actually gave them a very hard time. Sure, the French side took 20 minutes to settle in, not being able to stop Nedim Remili’s assists at first. As a consequence, Veszprém were leading by five at the 14th minute (11:6). But maybe playing too easily, the visitors started losing some balls, and Montpellier made the most of them. Running around after each turnover, Sebastian Karlsson and youngster Kylian Prat scored four unanswered goals to put the hosts up by one at the break (18:17).

The Hungarian side set things straight in the second half, picking up the exact same rhythm as they did at the start of the game. Pushing every ball they could, they soon took the momentum again, and a five-goal advantage at the 41st minute. Mikita Vailupau on the right-wing proved to be unstoppable, with eight goals, while Nedim Remili added a few assist to his seven goals. This time, Montpellier were not able to fight back, missing too many shots and looking without solutions defensively. Their maximum deficit was seven goals many times throughout the second part of the game, and Veszprém easily cruised to the win in the last 10 minutes.

main image © 2024 Patryk Ptak