EL: Sporting secured quarter-final and Sävehof completes comeback

In Portugal, Füchse Berlin had the opportunity to bounce back after their upset loss in the last round at home against Sporting, but once again, they couldn’t finish it. In Denmark, Sävehof completed a three-goal comeback in four minutes.

Füchse Berlin had not lost a game for 15 matches, but then they faced Sporting twice in one week and lost both encounters. Yet again, with 25 minutes remaining, it didn’t seem likely. However, with Martim Costa leading the charge with six goals (nine in total), Sporting never gave up. They managed to finish off the Germans and secure the first quarter-final spot.

In Skjern, the home team had the chance, with four minutes left, to take control of Group 2. With a three-goal lead, the Danish team seemed to have everything under control. However, the Swedes woke up, tightened their defense, and Emil Berlin scored two crucial goals. Skjern had nothing left to respond with, and with eleven seconds remaining, Oli Mittun completed the comeback, blowing Group 2 wide open.

Results

Group 1
G. Zabrze–Nantes 22–31 (12–16)
Hannover-Burgdorf–Rhein-Neckar Löwen 24–32 (12–15)

Group 2
Skjern–IK Sävehof 33–34 (16–18)
Nexe–RK Gorenje 34–27 (17–15)

Group 3
Kadetten–Bjerringbro-Silkeborg 33–34 (17–19)
Flensburg–Vojvodina 42–30 (20–16)

Group 4
CSM Constanta–Dinamo București 25–33 (11–16)
Sporting–Füsche Berlin 32–28 (17–17)