Podravka finally on the board, Bojana Popović loses hers in 31 seconds

Round four of the women's EHF Champions League brought a first win for Croatia's Podravka: 33:31 away to newcomers Blomberg-Lippe. The Germans led 11:6 and 15:13 at the break, but Matea Šošo, just back from injury, scored 11 goals and Podravka reached 27:22 in the 48th minute. The match of the round went to FTC, 24:23 against CSM Bucharest, coached by Bojana Popović. The Romanians levelled at 23:23 with 31 seconds left, and Petra Simon scored the winner in the final moments. Goalkeeper Anna Kristensen made 18 saves, and Popović admitted after the match that she was the one who decided it. In the other games Győr beat Bistrița 36:32, and champions Metz ran over Nykøbing 36:25. Győr, Metz and FTC have four wins from four. Podravka finally know what points look like.

Budućnost and Krim still waiting for their first Champions League points

The two clubs with the most matches in the history of the women's Champions League still don't know what a win looks like this season. Montenegro's Budućnost lost to Esbjerg 21:27, although it was level at half-time. Norwegians Nora Mørk and Henny Reistad scored 16 goals between them, and after Nina Bulatović's red card Budućnost couldn't keep up over the last 20 minutes. "We made too many technical errors," said coach Maja Savić. Slovenia's Krim played their 350th match in the Champions League in Brest, becoming the second club after Budućnost to reach that number, but lost 25:28. Both Budućnost and Krim have four defeats from four matches. History looks nice on a wall. Points are collected on the court.

Pelister open the European League with a defeat, Nexe and Izviđač celebrate

The new men's EHF European League started with 16 matches and only one draw, and the Macedonian representative started as badly as possible. Eurofarm Pelister lost to Spain's Logroño 24:31, trailing 8:16 at the break. Eight goals in a whole half is not a result you survive a group stage with. The Balkans did have some good news though: Croatia's Nexe won, Bosnia's Izviđač beat French side Chambéry 34:33, and Slovenia's Slovan celebrated in Tatabánya 36:31, with 16 goals from right winger Tim Cokan. Croatia's Sesvete lost to Sävehof 27:34. If Izviđač can knock over a French club, what is Pelister missing?

The Gjorče Petrov "Lionesses" head to the Czech Republic four goals up

Macedonian champions WHC Gjorče Petrov started their European journey with a win: at the Jane Sandanski hall they beat Czech side Baník Most 22:18 in EHF European League qualifying. It was a tight game, 10:10 at the break and 15:15 ten minutes from the end, with both teams barely getting through to goal. Then came a four-goal run, with two each from Anastasija Trpeska and Emilijana Rizoska, for a 19:15 lead the visitors never closed. Top scorer was Andjela Gubernić with seven goals. Plus four is a good base, but not a guarantee. The return leg is on 10 October in the Czech Republic, where the "Lionesses" will have to defend the lead they earned in Skopje.

WHC Vardar: after a five-year break, Europe lasted just two matches

WHC Vardar returned to the European stage after a five-year break and left it already in the round of 64 of the EHF European Cup. Both matches against Italy's Brixen were played in Italy, with Vardar the home side in the return leg only on paper. In the first match Vardar led 16:15 at half-time but lost 29:32, with Laškoska, Todorovska and Trifunovska top-scoring on four goals each. The return was even harder: 25:36, after 14:19 at the break and a second half in which only one team was on the court. A club carrying the name Vardar deserves more than two matches in Europe. The question is whether anyone will make sure that next time it doesn't take this long.