FCK book the last ticket, Kiel win group D

After 120 matches the group phase of men’s Champions League has come to an end. 16 teams from 10 countries have qualified for the knock-out stage. On Tuesday (12.00 CET) the last 16 round will be drawn in Vienna and since Sunday the pots are finalized for this draw, as FCK secured the last free place in group C. Hamburg took the second place in this group thanks to a 33:29 in Zagreb and Kiel won group D after a clear victory against Skopje.

In total four Spanish teams, three German teams, two Danish teams and each one from France, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Croatia have qualified for the last 16.

Due to the final standings after the Group Phase this round can meither give us a duel of two German teams nor of two Danish teams. But there is a possibility that Barcelona could play against Valladolid.

Read all about the draw event here.


Summary of Sunday’s games of match day 10:

Group A:

Montpellier HB – Pevafersa Valladolid 30:30 (15:16)

In a match with little meaning for the ranking Montpellier lost their first point on home soil in this season after four victories. But as the French champion was known as group winner before, the result didn’t hurt so much. Valladolid before had been known as the number three of group A. Outstanding player of the game was French Nikola Karabatic, who scored 12 goals for Montpellier. The match was equal, even as Valladolid had some little advantages in the middle of the first half (14:13) and right before the final stage of the match, as the Spaniards led 26:24 and were close to defeat Montpellier for the first time in this season on home soil. But thanks to Karabatic, Montpellier equalized again at the score of 27:27 and 30:30. Top scorer for Valladolid was Fernandez with five goals.

Pick Szeged – HCM Constanta 35:25 (14:17)

Three strong performances in the last three group matches weren’t enough for Szeged to qualify for the last 16: After the draws against Chechov and Valladolid the Hungarians beat Constanta very clearly. But before the match it was obvious that the Romanians and not the Hungarians will go in the CL. So the victory was only good for the self assurance of Pick.The spectators saw two completely different halves: Constanta played with a very aggressive defense and efficient offense in the first half and led well deserved with a three goal difference. But then the match changed completely: As Pick improved and scored five consecutive goals right after the break, Constanta became confused. By scoring only eight goals in the second half, Constanta couldn’t win the match. In contrast: Szeged played high speed and high class and really overran the Eastern neighbours.

Group C:

FCK Handbold – Alingsas HK 31:26 (16:11)

FCK is the 16th and last participant of the knock-out stage of the men’s Champions League. As even a defeat with eleven goals against Alingsas on home soil would have been enough, it was no surprise that the Danes went on as the second team from their league after Kolding. The clear 31:26 against the Swedish team was the fourth victory for FCK in the group phase. Even as FCK didn’t play brilliant against Alingsas and the Swedish team led in the very beginning, the Danes didn’t have problems. After the 7:7 they dominated the game. Best player on the field was FCK goalkeeper Kasper Hvidt.

RK CO Zagreb – HSV Hamburg 29:33 (14:19)

Thanks to in total 17 goals of their Croat trio Duvnjak (top scorer with eight goals), Vori and Lackovic HSV took the big hurdle in Zagreb and secured the second place in group C with 16 points, four points ahead of the Croats. Hamburg surprised the spectators in the sold out Arena with a furious start and led 13:9 after 17 minutes. Only RK top scorer Kiril Lazarow (seven goals) and Ivano Balic were able to catch up with the individual class of HSV that led well deserved with a five goals difference at the break. Zagreb improved in the second half, pushed by their fans. In minute 49 the distance was only one goal (26:27), the same as in minute 56 (29:30). But thanks to two goals of Hans Lindbergh and one of Pascal Hens, HSV won in Zagreb.

Group D:

THW Kiel – Vardar Skopje 39:23 (19:13)

THW Kiel has taken their chance and became number one in group D after Barcelona had tied in Kolding on Saturday. The Germans dominated the match against Skopje completely – and as they’re equal in points the direct encounter decided the group. And Kiel has scored one goal more at the match in Barcelona (30:27) than Barca score in Kiel (32:30). 10250 spectators in the sold out Arena attended a one sided match which was imprinted by young THW goalkeeper Andreas Palicka who returned after a long term injury. It only took twelve minutes as Kiel led 11:3, before Skopje came closer a little bit. But after the break the “Zebras” played absolutely dominant and decided the match latest at the score of 28:17.