Veszprém dominate PSG to reach the FINAL4 again
Veszprém dominate PSG to reach the FINAL4 again
MKB-MVM Veszprém secured their place in the VELUX EHF FINAL4 for the second year running, finishing the two-match battle against Paris Saint-Germain Handball with a decisive win at home in the jam-packed Veszprém Arena on Sunday.
The Hungarian outfit had problems trying to stop Mikkel Hansen, who scored 15 goals, but otherwise the home side controlled the game from the first minute to the last and deserved to eliminiate their French opponent.
VELUX EHF Champions League Quarter-final Leg 2
MKB-MVM Veszprém (HUN) vs. PSG Handball (FRA) 34:28 (16:12)
First leg 24:24. Agg 58:52, MKB-MVM Veszprém qualify for the VELUX EHF FINAL4
Sunday’s showdown started with deafening noise in Veszprém Arena where 5,000 fans were dressed in red to push their team to the VELUX EHF Champions League FINAL4 for the second year in a row.
The visitors started better and it took Veszprém eight minutes to finally pull ahead. Momir Ilic and William Accambray were the heroes as the two teams went head-to-head for the first fifteen minutes, but then the home side found fifth gear and left PSG standing.
Philippe Gardent was forced to take his first time-out as Veszprém threatened to build a massive lead by the break.
The home side held on to their narrow lead with the unstoppable Ilic putting them in firm control of the game while PSG needed the heroics of Mikkel Hansen to remain in sight.
Veszprém’s defence was just as tough as in Paris but their attacks were even better, promising a difficult night for the visitors.
Carlos Ortega ordered the home team to constantly run at the French wall when in possession to prevent PSG from making their transitional changes; a tactic which resulted in quite a few goals as Veszprém remained confidently in front.
Problems started to mount for Gardent when the Hungarian side extended their lead to six goals. Gardent was forced to take Thierry Omeyer, who hardly made contact with the home players’ shots, off the court.
Laszlo Nagy and his team ruthlessly punished the visitors’ defensive errors, with Renato Sulic taking the margin to eight goals.
Veszprém put on a great show for their loyal fans, who went crazy when Carlos Ruesga scored one of his trademark goals. With such a lead for the home team as the clock wound down, the last 10 minutes did not promise much excitement.
PSG started to narrow the scoreline with some wonder goals from the outstanding Mikkel Hansen, but there was too little time left for a comeback and Veszprém never allowed PSG to really get their hopes up.
Gardent congratulated Veszprém and praised the huge efforts of Mikkel Hansen:
"In Paris our defence worked well but we had problems in attack, and in Veszprém our attack proved better but Chema did a great job dismounting our defence."
Carlos Ortega was visibly moved when the sold out crowd chanted his name:
"I am really proud of our team and the things we achieved this year. We are in the FINAL4 once again and nobody can deny we deserved to book our place there. We’ve played a great game against a great team – eliminating PSG is a great achievement," Ortega said after the match.
