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EHF European League

Emmenegger sisters lead SPONO Eagles to the next round

Filip Mishov
Filip Mishov

The Swiss sisters, Mia and Ana Emmenegger stole the show in Serbia as they led the SPONO Eagles with 16 and 8 goals repsectively, in a double-header aggreate win against ŽRK Železničar.  The SPONO Eagles are one of five teams that secured a place in the EHF European League Women's qualification round 3 with Molde Elite, HC Dunărea Brăila and Costa del Sol Malaga joining them. Finally, Önnereds HK are through to the next round in a hugely dramatic fashion by defeating Hypo Niederösterreich via the 7m shootout.

  • Dunja Tabak scored 20 goals and Nikoleta Lazarević scored 17 goals, respectively, over two legs with both having perfect shot efficiency, but it still wasn't enough and ŽRK Železničar were eliminated
  • Mathilde Rømer recorded 19 saves and scored a goal, being one of the six players with perfect shot ratio for Molde Elite's squad
  • Mireya González Álvarez scored 12 goals and helped HC Dunărea Brăila advance to set a super-exciting tie against BV Borussia Dortmund in the next round
  • Patricia Kovacs displayed a brilliant performance by scoring 13 goals for Hypo Niederösterreich, but they were eliminated in the same stage of the competition, just like last season

Molde Elite (NOR) vs JDA Bourgogne Dijon Handball (FRA) 75:52 (40:23)

The hosts secured a place in the qualification round 3 after with another dominant performance in the return leg in Norway. The visitors' attempt to mount a comeback was halted by the brilliant Mathilde Rømer who recorded 19 saves and had a sky-high 45 per cent save efficiency. Additionally, Molde Elite's attack was on point too with Rikke Øyerhamn finding the back of the net on six occasions and Christine Alver adding four goals. Sara Valero Jodar scored four goals for the French side, but it wasn't enough as the two-goal deficit at half-time kept growing in the second half. Molde Elite will now face another French club, Neptunes de Nantes in the next round.

HC Dunărea Brăila (ROU) vs Valur (ICE) 60:43 (30:14)

The narrow one-goal win in Iceland by the Romanian club last week motivated the hosts to confirm their place in the next round with a huge win on home soil. Jelena Živković led HC Dunărea Brăila's attack with five goals and four assists, while Mireya González Álvarez scored four. Valur's right wing, Þórey Anna Ásgeirsdóttir scored four goals for the visitors, but her teammates couldn't follow her as only seven players got on the score sheet. Last season's third place winner, BV Borussia Dortmund are awaiting the Romanian side in qualification round 3.

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SPONO Eagles (SUI) vs ŽRK Železničar (SRB) 30:28

ŽRK Železničar (SRB) vs SPONO Eagles (SUI) 34:33

In a thrilling first match with many lead changes, the Swiss club won after successfully mounting a comeback to take the lead in the 46th minute and holding on for a two-goal lead ahead of the return leg. Eagles' playmaker, Nuria Bucher scored eight goals while Dunja Tabak kept the Serbian side in the tie scoring nine goals including he final goal of the match to make sure that SPONO Eagles were only two goals being going into the return leg.

The return leg was as dramatic as the first one with the winner of the tie decided in the dying minutes of match. ŽRK Železničar started the match on the front foot and was cruising in the opening 30 minutes taking a six-goal lead at the break.  The SPONO Eagles, however, showed determination and mounted a comeback.  While, the visitors lost the match, they won on aggregate (63:62) as the Swiss side scored the last three goals of the match to progress to the next round.

Önnereds HK (SWE) vs Hypo Niederösterreich (AUT) 64:63 (37:34)

In a dramatic second leg, the hosts prevailed on home soil and nullified the two-goal deficit from last week's defeat in Austria.  However, Önnereds HK needed a penalty shootout win to ultimately reach the next round. In the first half, the Gothenburg-based club announced its clear intention for mounting a comeback and led at half-time. The Swedish side even led by six-goals at one point in the second half, but the visitors' playmaker, Patricia Kovacs played brilliantly, scoring 13 goals and successfully converted a penalty in the dying seconds of regular time to force a penalty shootout with the sides knotted (59:59) on aggregate score at the final whistle. However, Önnereds HK celebrated in the end as they converted seven of nine taken penalties. CSM Targu Jiu awaits them in the next round.

Costa del Sol Malaga (ESP) vs Larvik HK (NOR) 68:58 (33:27)

In a match full of turnarounds, Costa del Sol Malaga confirmed their place in the competition's qualification round 3 with another win inspired by a second half comeback. The visitors from Norway played a superb first half and went into the break with a five-goal lead.  But, the inspired hosts displayed a monstrous attacking performance in the second half, scoring 22 goals to Larvik's nine and earned a clear aggregate victory. The Spanish club will now face Kobenhavn Handbold next as Costa del Sol Malaga are already one step further than last season when they were eliminated in qualification round 2.

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