By Dmitry Komarov
The team from Brest proved its worth finally in Macedonia, against local Pelister. The match at the Mladost Sports Hall was unforgettable, with beautiful combinations and determination, alongside two smoke bombs being delivered during the game! The first was set off during the Belarusian team’s warm up, obscuring the stands but with no injury to players. According to the senior coach, Vladimir Savko, ‘the incident made our players even more excited’.
Neither audience pressure nor scrambled training could stop the Belarusian team. Several seconds before the final whistle, it was clear that Pelister, having lost earlier in Brest, would not be able to close the gap, allowing it to enter the 1/8 finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup for its sum of two matches.
The second smoke bomb was thrown into the centre of the court but did not influence the score of 26:25. It was reflected only in EHF delegate Josip Posavec’s report. In January, Meshkov BHC will continue its fight for the Cup Winners’ Cup in the quarter-finals.
Dinamo Minsk had a home advantage in the 1/16 finals of the EHF Cup, snatching four points from French Nantes at Minsk’s Palace of Sports. However, they lead only until the 6th minute, when the situation drastically changed and the French advantage reached 8 points! Dinamo battled on, giving a thrilling end of the match. Players from both sides were sent off, with reciprocal penalties awarded, leading to a score of 34:37 in the guests’ favour. However, Maxim Babichev scored 35 seconds before the final whistle, securing not a win but a place in the quarter-finals.
