MT Melsungen has secured its ticket to the Final Four in the Handball European League and can continue to dream of the title. In Porto, however, the North Hessians were on the verge of losing their lead from the first leg.
MT Melsungen’s European Cup title dream lives on: The North Hesse team lost the quarter-final second leg in the European League at FC Porto on Tuesday evening with 19:23 (9:12). But because they had a five-goal lead from the first leg, that was just enough to advance.
Things got dicey for the first time at the start when the MT didn’t manage to score a single goal in the first seven minutes. After Dainis Kristopans’ can opener, the team was in the game, even though Porto held a narrow lead throughout the first half. Melsunger’s score in the first half wasn’t all that good: only nine goals were scored, four of them from seven meters.
Second half extremely exciting
Because the MT came out of the break weakly, Porto equalized the five-goal deficit from the first leg shortly after the restart and then took the lead in the overall score. However, Melsungen was able to get it back shortly afterwards and a game developed on a knife’s edge. In the end, the team from the Bundesliga had the better end for themselves.
This means that the North Hessians are still in the race for the title in the Handball European League. The Final Four will take place in Hamburg on May 30th and 31st. In addition to MT Melsungen, SG Flensburg-Handewitt, THW Kiel and Montpellier HB from France will be on the panel.
FC Porto – MT Melsungen 23:19 (12:9)
Goals for Porto: Martínez Llamazares (4), Silva (4), Costa (3), Gunnarsson (3), Vinhas da Silva Gomes (3), Brandao (2), Brito Duarte (2), Oliveira (1), Salina (1)
Goals for Melsungen: Drosten (7), Balenciaga Azcue (2), Darmoul (2), Kristopans (2), Kastening (2), Arnarsson (1), Marchan Criado (1), Mensing (1), Sipos (1)
Viewers: 1085
