The Romanian team HC Odorhei has won as an absolute first the Challenge Cup in men’s handball.
In the tie’s return leg on Sunday, Odorhei secured a 32-25 win against Portuguese contenders Liberty Seguros ABC/UMinho, on home court. We recall Liberty had won the first leg, 32-28.
The Portuguese also had the upper hand early into the return leg, and even had the lead, 20 minutes into the game. However, Odorhei had a vigorous comeback and before halftime they went three goals up from their contenders, 18-15. In the second half of the match, HC Odorhei burst forth and on 38 minutes already had a 23-16 lead, that is seven goals up from their contenders. In minute 54 the fate of the game had already been sealed, since Odorhei secured a 29-20 lead. The match ended 32-25 for the Romanians, and it was all clear to whom the trophy would go to.
In the return leg against the team from Braga, HC Odorhei’s Andrei Mihalcea was his team’s best scorer, with no less than nine goals on his record sheet.
HC Odorhei’ s excellent run in this year’s edition of the Challenge Cup included a crucial win against English side HC Cambridge, then they eliminated Red Boys Differdange of Luxembourg. In the quarterfinals, HC Odorhei outclassed Ukrainian side Zaporoje, while in the semifinals the Romanians overpowered yet another Portuguese contender, Benfica from Lisbon.
HC Odorhei has thus become the third Romanian team to have won the Challenge Cup in recent years. The first Romanian men’s handball team to have won the Cup was Steaua Bucharest, in 2006, while in 2007, 2008 and 2009 the Cup went to UCM Resita.
As for the Portuguese team Liberty Seguros ABC/Uminho, they sadly added a third defeat in a European competition final, following the defeat in the Champions League final in 1994, and the Challenge Cup final in 2005.
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