The handball players of Orlen Wisła Płock drew in their hall with HBC Nantes 32:32 (14:18) in the first playoff match of the Handball Champions League. The return match will be played on March 29 in France.
The Płock team were not favorites in the two-legged match against the representative of the French league. The vice-champion of Poland barely won promotion from the group, while their today’s rival finished the first part of the European games in third place.
The beginning of the match kind of confirmed who should emerge victorious from the tie. The hosts of Wednesday’s match had a problem to force the opponent’s defense, they made mistakes in attack, while the guests used almost every opportunity to score a goal. As a result, the visitors quickly developed a three-goal advantage.
In the following minutes, the players of Płock were struggling to make up for the losses, but when they caught up with the rival (10:10), they were again struck by unexpected offensive impotence. Finally, for the break, the Polish vice-champion left the court with the score 14:18.
If anyone was wondering whether Orlen Wisła’s handball players would be able to fight to turn the game around in the second part of the game, they quickly received an answer. The hosts tried to eliminate the loss as soon as possible (21:21), and then until the last minute they not only made sure that the team from France did not gain a significant advantage again, but also took the lead several times.
Ultimately, the match in Płock ended in a draw 32:32, although the team from Płock could have won a minimal victory – unfortunately, the last action of the match could not be successfully completed. Interestingly, it was the third match between these teams in the Champions League in recent years and each time the team from Nantes ended the meeting with the same number of goals scored (32).
The return match, deciding which team will advance to the quarter-finals, will be played on Wednesday, March 29. The meeting starts at 20:45.
Handball Champions League – Playoff Round (First Match)
Orlen Wisła Płock – HBC Nantes 32:32 (14:18)
Orlen Wisla: Ignatio Biosca, Marcel Jastrzębski – Michał Daszek 4, Tin Lucin 6, Tomas Piroch 3, Abel Serdio 4, Leon Susnja, Gergo Fazekas, Przemysław Krajewski, Gonzalo Perez, Mirsad Terzic, Lovro Mihic 3, Niko Mindegia 2, Dmitry Żytnikow 6, Sergiej Kosorotov 4.
HBC Nantes: Victor Hallgrimsson, Manuel Gaspar – Thibaud Briet 5, Aymeric Minne 4, Linus Persson, Valero Rivera 10, Alexandro Cavalcanti 2, Rok Ovnicek 1, Baptiste Damatrin-Bertrand, Pedro Portela, Jorge Maqueda 1, Jeremy Toto 2, Theo Monar 3, Claudi Odriozola
It is happening in Poland and in the world – read on i.pl
Partner promotional materials
