Motor set up perfect trap to upset Veszprém

HC Motor might not have taken a point out of Ukraine yet, but at home, they remain a force to reckon with in the EHF Champions League Men, as they underlined with a surprise 29:27 win over Telekom Veszprém HC on Wednesday.

The guests from Hungary lacked the power and the offensive precision to take the win, while Motor were never behind following an early lead and building a lead of up to five goals.

GROUP B

HC Motor (UKR) vs Telekom Veszprém HC (HUN) 29:27 (14:12)

• it took Veszprém nine minutes to score their first goal, though Motor led by ‘only’ three at that time
• both teams were level in the 16th minute: 6:6
• but Motor started to build a lead again, helped by nine saves from goalkeeper Gennadiy Komok in the first half, for a four-goal lead in minute 24
• taking their time in attack and playing perfectly defensively, Motor increased their advantage to a maximum of five goals with eight minutes left to play
• three players all scored six goals: Dmytro Horiha and Zakhar Denysov for Motor and Kentin Mahé for Veszprém
• Motor are now fourth in the group with six points, while Veszprém remain third with eight

Motor found the perfect rhythm

Motor are a tough team to play against, not only because of their players’ quality, but also because of the rhythm they use during the games. It is slow-paced – but ideal to trick their opponents. And on Wednesday, they used the tactics to upset Veszprém, who did not manage to put their own rhythm into the game. Never were the visitors able to speed things up, like they prefer to do. But Motor kept playing at their own pace, almost walking at times, but it worked out perfectly for them.