Göppingen secure maiden EHF Finals Men berth

The nine-goal advantage from the first leg Göppingen brought with them to Croatia was more than enough to qualify for the pinnacle event of the season.

Nexe were giving their best on the court. Despite good saves by Mihailo Radovanovic, especially in the first half, and Janko Kevic's eight goals, Nexe could not make a decisive run for a comeback and repeat last season's success, when they did make it to the EHF Finals.

QUARTER-FINAL, SECOND LEG

RK Nexe vs Frisch Auf Göppingen 27:31 (12:13)
First leg 23:32 – Göppingen win 63:50 on aggregate

Nexe's defence was at a high level from the start, but the attack did not follow with the same intensity. Therefore, the home side scored their first goal after five minutes of play while Göppingen were already up by two. Goalkeeper Mihailo Radovanovic stood out in the first half, having seven saves and never dropping below 40 per cent of saves.

Nexe managed to turn the momentum the last 10 minutes as the Croatian hosts made the best out of turnovers; Dominik Markusic scored for their first lead in the game and gave a spark of hope. However, Göppingen once again turned the score in their favour and never looked back.

It was all level throughout the first 15 minutes of the second half. Nexe's lack of concentration led to technical fouls which Göppingen used for counterattacks, and from 18:18 went up by three. Backed by the advantage from the first leg, Göppingen had long decided the tie by then.

Nexe could not keep up with the imposed pace and was only trying to soothe the defeat at their farewell from the European season. They came close to narrowing it down to two but again Göppingen's fast reaction delivered a 31:27 win with a full-blown team action: 12 out of 13 field players contributed at least once to the German success, with Josip Šarac being the most successful with six goals.