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Plain sailing expected for big guns and Szeged visit Zagreb
- Updated: September 27, 2016
There were no surprises in the opening round of Group B as the section’s big guns, namely champions Kielce and Macedonian giants Vardar, celebrated emphatic away wins at Brest and Kristianstad, respecticvely.
Those who clashed with each other, Szeged and RNL, shared the spoils while Celje enjoyed a rare victory against traditional rivals Zagreb. The second round offers one derby, with Zagreb taking on Szeged in the Croatian capital, whereas the home sides will start as strong favourites in the other three. Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER) vs RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko (SLO) Wednesday, 18:30 hrs local time, live on ehfTV The German champions clawed out a point in their enthralling opener at MOL-Pick Szeged and will look to register their first win when they take on Slovenia’s RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko, who will be buoyed by a well-deserved home win over Zagreb. Balanced team effort Rhein-Neckar Löwen showed plenty of grit and determination to avoid defeat in Hungary, as Andre Schmid lead a balanced team effort in attack with six goals while Patrick Groetzki, Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson and Hendrik Pekeler added five each.
Evergreen Icelander Sigurdsson seemed to have blended in seamlessly after his move from Barcelona, with the 37-year-old winger superbly filling the void created by the departure of fellow winger Uwe Gensheimer to Paris Saint-Germain. Valuable points The veteran’s clinical finishing will be exactly what’s required to prevent an upset by a fired-up Celje, who shone against Zagreb and earned two valuable points in the battle for a top-six finish. Having won seven of their eight previous encounters, Mannheim’s Lions will start as odds-on favourites to beat Celje again although the Slovenian outfit will take some confidence from their last meeting when they beat RNL 31:27 on home court in November 2014. KS Vive Tauron Kielce (POL) vs IFK Kristianstad (SWE) Saturday, 15:30 hrs local time, live on ehfTV This is the round’s David vs Goliath clash; Kristianstad were soundly beaten by Vardar 28:23 on home court in the opening round, visit the competition’s defending champions. Kielce at times made heavy weather of their 29:24 win at Meshkov Brest but easily moved up a gear when they …
