EL: Löwen won their first leg – only conceding 19

The European Leagues round of 16 started yesterday with four matches on the menu. Rhein-Neckar Löwen’s defense really showed up in Croatia, only letting Nexe score 19 goals. And after all games, four teams are now heading into the second leg one step closer to the quarter-finals.

The day started with two games. Dinamo București versus Bjerringbro Silkeborg and Füsche Berlin away against Kadetten.

In the first game, București had a convincing lead after 50 minutes. Silkeborg was unable to stop the Romanians, especially Miklos Rosta and his nine goals, and was down with eight goals with ten minutes remaining. The Danish then made an important push, much help by Ludvig Hallbäck and William Bogojevic, and brought București lead down to three heading to the second leg.

Meanwhile in Switzerland, Kadetten and Füsche Berlin were all level with 25 minutes left. The Germans then took control of the game, scoring five in a row. Kadetten was unable to make a full comeback but has a small chance in the next leg by only losing with four.

The second round of games started with Rhein-Neckar Löwen taking care of business against RK Nexe. Jannik Kohlbacher and Tobias Reichmann together scored 14 of the Germans’ total 24 goals, but it was their defense that made the headlines, only letting 19 shots hit the net. The third German team, Hannover-Burgdorf, faced IK Sävehof at home. The home team was in command for the whole game but was first after 45 minutes that they managed to break down the Swedes and securing a four-goal victory.

The results heading into the second leg:
Dinamo București 37–Bjerringbro Silkeborg 34
Kadetten 28 –Füsche Berlin 32
RK Nexe 19–Rhein-Neckar Löwen 24
Hannover-Burgdorf 34–IK Sävehof 30
If it’s tied after the second leg, the game will go to extra time.