Handball - Women's European Cups

    Match Day 3 will bring you eight exciting matches, and three of last
    year’s semi-finalists, Vâlcea, Győr, and Viborg need greatly improved
    performances to secure points in their away games. Here is our complete
    preview of all of this weekend's matches:

    Group A


    Dinamo Volgograd (RUS) - Viborg HK (DEN)



    Each club has two points in the bank, and in this
    game they both aim for a victory to be in good position for reaching the
    Main Round before the second stage of the Group Phase.


    Reigning champion Viborg disappointed their home
    crowd last weekend when the team of coach Jakob Vestergaard was
    humiliated by 9 goals. Not much worked out for the Danish side that
    evening. The players had massive problems with Budućnost’s attack, and
    they made mistake after mistake, whilst the Montenegrins played at the
    highest possible level. Viborg has several injured players (Cristina
    Vărzaru, Anja Althaus and Mouna Chebbah) before the crucial game in
    Volgograd, and as Vestergaard said: "A much better game is needed if we
    are to remain in contention for the CL".


    The home team of Dinamo is known for being a strong
    force in its own hall, so they await a win in a tough game against the
    title holder. Volgograd’s back line, with Khmyrova and Kochetova, worked
    very well against IK Sävehof. Those two players scored 20 goals between
    them and were the main pillars for Dinamo’s first points of the CL
    campaign. Dinamo’s game is slowly taking shape this season, and coach
    Victor Ryabykh hopes for even more improvement against Viborg.


    The EHF Women's Champions League game of Group A,
    Dinamo Volgograd (RUS) vs. Viborg HK (DEN) on Sunday 24 October 2010 at
    14:00 hrs (local time) will be broadcast live on our free-of-charge web
    stream at ehfTV.com.


    IK Sävehof (SWE) - BudućnostPodgorica (MNE)


    Budućnost, with the maximum of four points from their
    first two games, aim for a clear victory against CL debutant Sävehof in
    Partille, Sweden.


    To remain focused for the team’s third game,
    Budućnost decided to stay in Scandinavia to prepare well for IK Sävehof.
    The easy victory against Viborg came as a surprise to most observers,
    but the team of Dragan Adžić played at their highest possible level and
    super-star Bojana Popović successfully analyzed the title holder. With
    her extra motivation and Budućnost’s improved game plan, the club looks
    for its third victory, this time in Sweden.


    Despite losing by 11 goals in Russia, the Swedes
    scored 26 goals in the away game, and this improved performance in
    attack is something to build upon for the future. However, the Balkan
    team remains the clear favourite and it would be a big surprise if
    Sävehof stole even a point from the classy Montenegrins.

    Group B


    HC Leipzig (GER) – Hypo Niederösterreich (AUT)

    The dominant Germans aim for another win to maintain
    their perfect record at the halfway point of the CL Group Stage, whilst
    Hypo NÖ need their first point(s) to remain in the competition.


    The fortunes of the two teams have changed
    dramatically in recent seasons. Record-winner Hypo NÖ now work with a
    very young, reinforced team, and with those young players lacking CL
    routine, this means more responsibility for the experienced Ale
    Nascimento and co. In addition, the Austrians have been cursed with
    injuries, so they’ll have to use the same squad as in the first two
    rounds. It’ll be interesting to see how long they’ll be able to cope
    with the quick game of their opponent.


    Leipzig is the clear favourite on home soil as they
    look to secure two more points by capitalising on their team unity and
    the fast-paced game plan that coach Heine Jensen has devised for these
    matches. Leipzig have worked hard to become a very close-knit team, and
    this team unity will probably result in three victories from three games
    in Group B.



    DVSC-Korvex (HUN) - Itxako Reyno De Navarra (ESP)



    With only two points each so far, both teams are aiming for a second victory in the next round of the CL campaign.


    The home team of Debrecen will need an improved
    performance compared to the second round game in Leipzig, where they had
    no chance to upset the Germans. The weakness of DVSC is that the team
    has, so far, been unable to play consistently well for the whole 60
    minutes. Coach Vilmos Köstner is working on this problem, and if he can
    inspire them, his team could surprise Spanish team Itxako. Line player
    and defensive specialist Rita Borbás is out with a hand injury, but the
    rest of squad is ready for the clash against the aggressive Spaniards. A
    big advantage for DVSC will be their local hall "Hódos", which is
    guaranteed to be well filled and loud.


    On the other hand, Itxako, the strongly-fancied team
    with the best squad in Group B comes to Hungary with much
    self-confidence. The team of Coach Martín Ambros collected two points in
    Austria against Hypo NÖ in a most impressive manner. His players acted
    freshly, with a feeling of strength, and seemed much sharper than those
    of their opponent. Sunday’s game is not expected to be an easy one for
    the Spaniards. It’ll be a tough game with a great atmosphere, and a real
    handball spectacle for the visitors.

    Group C


    Randers HK (DEN) - Toulon Saint Cyr Var Handball (FRA)



    Danish Randers aim for another two points at home to
    remain in the race for a spot among the best 8 teams in the CL
    competition. Toulon, on the other hand, wishes to earn its first CL
    points this season.


    To secure a victory in their home game, the Danes
    will need the performance of Match Day 1 and not Match Day 2. Against
    Larvik, they struggled a lot. The team had massive problems and wasn’t
    focused on the game plan that the coach had prepared, which resulted in a
    big defeat.


    Newcomer Toulon is still without points in the EHF
    Champions League and for the team of Thierry Vincent it’ll be a tough
    clash in Denmark. However, the coach is not dissatisfied with the two
    defeats so far. In his opinion "the results of the first two rounds are
    realistic and experience will come from the sequence of games". For
    Toulon nothing remains but to collect CL experience in the next four
    rounds. Who knows, with a good game plan, his young team could collect
    one or two points.


    Larvik HK (NOR) - C.S. "Oltchim" Rm. Vâlcea (ROU)


    In the top game of the weekend, the Norwegian ‘national team’ is to meet the Romanian ‘national team’.


    Of course this is not strictly true, but both
    national teams employ several players from each of these clubs, so an
    exciting handball event with top stars is expected in the Arena Larvik.
    Larvik is currently dominating the Group C table and after the high
    class game they produced last weekend against Randers, everything is on
    their side for another victory. The team of Karl-Erik Bøhn played at
    full capacity, and every player contributed her utmost to the game so
    that a well-deserved victory was celebrated on home soil.


    To perform that well against their Romanian
    counterpart won’t be so easy, as the Vâlcea players will try to stop the
    Norwegians from repeating last weekend’s performance. The team of Péter
    Kovács is trying to prepare with discipline and intelligence for this
    crucial match, but the Romanian finalist of last season is under
    pressure. They have already lost a game on Match Day 1 and they
    desperately want to make amends in Norway.


    The EHF
    Women's Champions League top game of Group C, Larvik HK (NOR) vs. C.S.
    Oltchim Rm. Vâlcea (ROM) on Saturday 23 October 2010 at 17:15 hrs (local
    time) will be broadcast live on our free-of-charge web stream on ehfTV.com.

    Group D


    Zvezda Zvenigorod (RUS) - HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO)

    Russian
    Zvezda aim for their second victory on home soil, whilst Podravka hope
    for a repeat of their quality performance against Győr.

    Despite scoring 32 goals in an away game, Zvenigorod
    coach Evgeny Trefilov was very disappointed with his team’s defence in
    Round 2 of the Champions League. The Russians conceded 37 goals and this
    was far too many for former defensive specialist Trefilov. In the game
    against the Croats he’ll again rely on 20 year old Anna Sen, the
    youngster who scored an incredible 14 goals in two games, and thus made a
    great debut in the Zvezda uniform.


    Podravka on the other hand, lost in a very unlucky
    way against Győr. The team of Neven Hrupec produced its best performance
    so far in the CL campaign, but this still wasn’t enough for a point in
    Hungary. Now he wants a performance of similar quality from his players
    in Russia and the possibility of earning the first point(s) which could
    be vital for staying in the competition after half-time of the Group
    Phase.


    The EHF Women's Champions League game of Group D,
    Zvezda Zvenigorod (RUS) vs. HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO) on Sunday 24
    October 2010 at 16:00 hrs (local time) will be broadcast live on our
    free-of-charge web stream on ehfTV.com.



    RK Krim (SLO) - Győri AUDI ETO KC (HUN)



    The two favourites of Group D meet in a tough clash,
    with Krim wanting to retain their 100% record, and AUDI ETO feeling the
    pressure after beating Podravka, with some difficulty, last weekend.


    The Hungarians had a hard time in Round 2 of the CL.
    Despite leading with a bigger margin in the second half, their Croatian
    opponent fought hard and the team of Csaba Konkoly struggled to win the
    game. For the crucial game in Ljubljana, the Brazilian international
    Eduarda Amorim is back, but AUDI ETO will still need a more focused
    defence, and a good game plan against the fast-paced handball of Krim.


    With 72, the team of Marta Bon has scored the most
    goals in the CL campaign so far. Bon’s quick game plan paid off in the
    first two games and the coach hopes for a victory in the new Dvorana
    Stožice arena to secure the best position in the group before the
    two-week break. In their Round 3 match Krim will miss line player
    Dragana Cvijić, who tore ligaments against Zvezda and is possibly out
    for six months. Despite Cvija’s injury, Krim will go all-out to beat the
    Hungarians, who are undefeated in their last six duels.

    Dinamo Volgograd – Viborg HK 41:33 (20:15)



    The downhill race of reigning
    champion Viborg HK is going on: After being defeated by Budućnost on
    home ground last weekend the Danes took another clear defeat in Russia
    and now rank with only two points below Volgograd (4). Anna Kochetova
    was the key player of the Russian champion
    with outstanding 17 goals, Olga Levina scored eight times. Grit Jurack
    and Rikke Skov scored seven times for Viborg in an – from the Danish
    point of view surprisingly - one-sided match. The Russians were dominant
    nearly the whole 60 minutes, Viborg could only hope for a better end,
    when they had reduced the gap to 33:36. But as Anja Althaus received a
    disqualification, the Russians went on to a clear victory, that opens
    the gate for them to the Main Round, whilst VHK have to fight hard due
    to this clear goal difference against the direct opponent.

    Zvezda Zvenigorod – Podravka Koprivnica 29:26 (11:14)



    By an absolute improvement after
    the break and in total of 20 goals by the trio Postnova, Sen (each 7)
    and Kuznetsova (6) the Russian runner-up secured two highly important
    points for the Main Round. Like in Round 1 and 2 Koprivnica was a very
    strong opponent, but still the Croats wait for their first points. Top
    scorer for the guests was Pasicnik with six goals. Thanks to this
    victory Zvezda is equal in points with Györ and Krim now, as all have
    four on their account. For Koprivnica the chances to reach the Main
    Round have become very small after the half of the group matches. The
    Croats were the stronger team in the first 30 minutes, before the
    Russian defence improved – Koprivnica only scored 12 goals after the
    break. On the other hand Postnova led her team that took the lead in
    minute 36 at the score of 18:17. The match was decided at the score of
    26:22.

    Larvik in Group C and Podgorica in Group A are the
    first teams to have qualified for the Main Round after a fourth straight
    victory. Larvik had no problems against Randers, and Budućnost may have
    ended the hopes of reigning CL champion Viborg with another clear
    victory.

    In Group B, Itxako and Leipzig have the best chances
    of reaching the next stage with six points each, the same as Krim and
    Győr in Group D. All of those teams won their matches in Round 4 this
    weekend. In Group A, the fate of Dinamo Volgograd now rests in its own
    hands, as the team is four points ahead of Viborg. In Group C, Vâlcea
    had to struggle hard in Toulon, but thanks to their victory, the
    Romanians are in second place.

    Group A:

    IK Sävehof – Dinamo Volgograd 30:35 (17:16)

    Extremely tough work for 60 minutes, followed by
    intense celebrations after the final whistle: Dinamo Volgograd is close
    to the Main Round - but still has two tough duels ahead against Viborg
    and Podgorica. In those games, the Russian champion must really prove
    its strength. For Sävehof, still without points, it is clear that they
    will not progress further in this season`s CL. The game was incredibly
    close for 54 minutes, and neither team could open-up more than a
    two-goal gap.

    The more-favoured Russians had problems with their
    attack as the Swedish champion adjusted its tactics. Volgograd missed
    its last chance in the first half - a free throw at the final whistle -
    to reach a draw after 30 minutes. The Sävehof lead didn`t last long,
    however, as Volgograd improved its attack. Even so, the Swedes were
    still on a par with the Russians. In the 54<sup>th</sup> minute, the
    score was 29:30, but the Russians finished stronger. A Sävehof time-out
    at 29:31 didn`t bring the Swedes back on track, as Volgograd won the
    game by a five-goal margin.

    Budućnost Podgorica – Viborg HK 32:24 (16:17)

    Budućnost Podgorica not only remained
    unbeaten, but it really shook the confidence of Viborg. As the team from
    Montenegro qualified for the Main Round with this well-deserved
    victory, the reigning champion is close to failure.

    To go on to the next stage, the Danes have
    to hope for a Podgorica victory against Volgograd, whilst also winning
    both of their own matches - including the game against Dinamo by a
    margin of at least nine goals.

    Hard weeks lie ahead for VHK, but big
    celebrations are underway in Podgorica. After an even first half, the
    team of coach Dragan Adžić decided the game with its robust defence and
    the massive pressure that their back-court players placed upon Viborg.

    The hopes were high for the Danes as they led at the
    break, but it only took the next ten minutes to break their resistance
    completely. After Budućnost had scored a 7:1 series to make it 23:18,
    the morale vanished from the VHK squad, and Podgorica cut through them
    like a hot knife through butter. The biggest gap was 30:21 in the 51<sup>st</sup> minute, and by then the game had already been decided.

    Group B:
    DVSC-Korvex Debrecen – HC Leipzig 19:20 (8:11)
    This was a nail-biting game until the final
    second, but then the German champion celebrated its third victory,
    which opens the gate widely to the Main Round - even though they had to
    replace some key players.
    Debrecen remains on two points, as does
    Hypo, and they have to hope that Itxako or Leipzig slip-up in the final
    two rounds. The match was full of emotion and tension, but also full of
    mistakes from both sides. Leipzig was in the lead for most of the match,
    but couldn`t escape from the Hungarians, who were supported by a great
    fan-base in Debrecen.
    Despite some early suspensions, Leipzig took
    advantage of its early 3:0 lead to remain ahead at the break. At the
    re-start, HCL extended their lead to four goals (13:9) for the only time
    in the match. As Debrecen`s goalkeeper, Èva Kiss, improved, and the
    number of Leipzig mistakes increased, the match was close to becoming
    even, as HCL was leading 18:15 in the 46<sup>th</sup> minute. Debrecen equalized to make it 18:18 and 19:19 in the thrilling final stage of the match. 70
    seconds before the end, Ania Rösler gave HCL the lead at 20:19, and
    then both teams missed with their attacks. Top scorers were Sopronyi
    (Debrecen) and Ulbricht (Leipzig) with each six goals.

    Itxako Reyno de Navarra (ESP) – Hypo Niederösterreich (AUT) 23:21 (11:7)

    With their
    third consecutive victory the Spanish champion from Estella made a great
    step towards the Main Round and kept the lead in Group B with six
    points. But this time Hypo was - in contrast to the first match (19:30) -
    an opponent on eye level and showed some great improvement to their
    previous games. The match was
    equal over the whole 60 minutes, Hypo could count on two strong
    goalkeepers with 50 percent saved shots. Itxako played as real team unit
    and nearly all of its players scored. The returning Macarena Aguilar
    and Carmen Martín were the top scorers of the host with five goals each,
    whilst do Nascimento scored six times for the guests. With their third
    victory in four games the Spaniards kept their favourite role in the
    group, and Hypo, ranked third at the moment, can still go on to the Main
    Round despite only one win up to now.

    On Sunday Hungarian Debrecen will host Leipzig and try to take revenge for the defeat in Germany.

    Group C:

    Randers HK – Larvik HK 20:38 (13:20)

    Larvik HK was the first of the 16
    participants to qualify for the Main Round of the Women`s Champions
    League. This clear result was its fourth straight victory, and with
    eight points, the Norwegian champion cannot be overtaken by their
    opponents, even though two rounds remain.

    Randers had to replace several key players
    due to injuries and didn`t stand a chance against the "Norwegian storm",
    even though Larvik were without injured star Gro Hammerseng. Randers
    took an early time-out as Larvik raced to a 10:5 lead, but nothing
    changed, as the Norwegians played some brilliant fast breaks and their
    line-player Heidi Løke was very strong.

    Top scorer was Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth with eight
    goals. After the break, Randers lost their rhythm, their power, their
    concentration, and finally, the match, by an even bigger score than in
    the first game in Larvik (19:33). The Danes - still with only two
    points - need victories in Vâlcea and in Toulon to keep their Main Round
    dreams alive.

    Toulon Saint Cyr Var– Oltchim Vâlcea 22:26 (13:13)

    Back on track: After two defeats and some discussion
    about the future of coach Péter Kovács, last season’s finalist, Oltchim
    Vâlcea, showed an important sign of life against the brave French
    champion. With four points on their account, the Romanians secured
    second place in their group, ahead of Randers and Toulon (each with
    two).

    With a victory against Randers on home soil and a
    parallel victory or a draw of Larvik against Toulon, Vâlcea would follow
    the Norwegians next weekend.
The match in Toulon was mostly even
    despite the fact that Vâlcea was leading for most of the time. Neagu,
    Elisei (each with five goals), Stanca and Vizitiu (each with four goals)
    were the key players for the Romanians. On the other side, Mwasesa was
    top scorer of the match with ten goals.

    Right after the break, Toulon was leading 15:13,
    before Vâlcea scored six straight goals. But the Toulon resistance
    wasn’t broken until the 19:20 stage, after which the visitors had more
    will-power in the final stage of the game.

    Group D:

    Zvezda Zvenigorod – RK Krim Ljubljana 28:32 (7:19)

    Krim, with 6 points, retained its good position in
    Group D, and is heading towards the Main Round after this highly
    decisive victory in Russia. Zvezda remains on four points after being
    outclassed by Krim – something which is not reflected in the rather
    generous final scoreline.

    The Russian runner-up has to win both of its last
    matches against Podravka and Győr to be sure of reaching the next CL
    stage. A brilliant defence, and the outstanding goalkeeper Jelena
    Grubisić (23 saves), were the key factors for Krim. The Slovenians
    really shocked their host in the first half, as Zvezda couldn’t break
    through the "Krim wall". In attack, the Slovenian champion waited
    patiently for its chances – and had effectively decided the game after
    30 minutes with a surprising twelve-goal difference.

    Zvezda coach Evgeny Trefilov found the right words
    during the break – but the gap was too big to turn the match
    completely.
In the end it was only a four-goal margin, but it was
    obvious that Krim would be declared the winner by the 45th minute. Top
    scorers were Kuznetsova with nine goals for Zvezda, and Varlec, with
    seven for Ljubljana.

    Krim need at least a victory in the next match
    against Podravka to be absolutely sure of the Main Round. Zvezda needs
    victories against Győr and Podravka to avoid their third straight
    failure after the Group Phase.

    Podravka Koprivnica- Audi ETO Győr 24:35 (10:19)

    With their third straight victory, Győr
    (after losing the opener against Zvenigorod) is close to the next stage
    as Podravka remain without points after the fourth Round. Eight goals
    from Görbicz (showing a world class performance), and seven from Vérten,
    paved the way to this impressive result for the Hungarian champion.

    Győr took the lead right at the start, extended it to
    15:7, and 19:10 at the break. In the 42nd minute, the margin was ten
    goals for the first time at the score of 24:14, and despite eight goals
    from Pušić, the Hungarians maintained the gap. If Győr takes at least
    one point against Zvezda it will qualify for the Main Round.