It was an important weekend in men’s European cup competitions as the finalists for both the EHF Cup and Challenge Cup were found alongside the VELUX EHF Champions League FINAL4 participants.

 

The LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals will be contested between three German sides: SC Magdeburg, 2015 and 2016 IHF Super Globe champions Füchse Berlin, and hosts Frisch Auf Göppingen, along with Saint-Raphael Var Handball from France. Göppingen were automatically qualified for the final weekend after winning their group and securing organising rights, leaving three quarter-finals to determine their opponents.

 

All three of the quarter-final-winning sides recorded victories in both legs of their knock-out matches, with Magdeburg defeating Helvetia Anaitasuna 34:27 then 35:32 for an aggregate of 69:59. Berlin beat Grundfos Tatabanya KC 58:47 on aggregate after a 30:25 victory in the first leg in Hungary and a home win of 28:22.

 

Saint-Raphael recorded the clearest aggregate win, as they defeated MT Melsungen 30:26 and 31:23 for an aggregate of 61:49.

 

“The most important for us was the first 15 minutes of the game. We prepared especially for that period,” said Saint-Raphael coach Joel Da Silva on the official EHF Cup website. “When we stayed close Melsungen began to doubt their own strength. That was our match plan and we made it.”

 

The Men’s Challenge Cup semi-finals saw a clear victory for Portugal’s Sporting CP over Dutch side JMS Hurry-Up and a one-goal contest between Iceland’s Valur and Romania’s AHC Potaissa Turda.

 

Sporting won both legs of their elimination round for an aggregate score of 69:41, while Valur and Potaissa Turda kept fans on the edge of their seats to the end. After Valur were victorious the first leg 30:22 they appeared in a strong position to reach the final, but their opponents used the home advantage in the second leg to win 32:23 – and therefore 54:53 on aggregate.

 

More information can be found on the official European cup website here.

 

Photo: ML Terrier