Vardar seven from seven before Nantes, Butel chase a three-goal deficit against Gorica

Vardar: seven wins from seven, 14 goals for Fadoul

Vardar beat Butel 38:30 (20:15) in round seven of the Super League and, with a seventh win in seven games, moved to the top with a perfect 14 points. The match was played outside the regular schedule because both teams have European commitments this week. Mateo Fadoul scored 14 goals and Uroš Mitrović nine, which makes 23 of the 38. The coach rested Jaka Malus and João Pedro da Silva, while Butel played without Subaševski, Ǵorgievski, Stamenković and Čaneski. The visitors got closest in the 40th minute, at 26:22, and then their technical errors punished them. On Wednesday Vardar visit Nantes in the Champions League, where the domestic table is worth not a single goal of advantage.

Alkaloid plus nine, Butel chasing minus three

In the first leg of the second round of the EHF European Cup, Alkaloid crushed Austria's Ferlach 31:22. Kire Lazarov's side led 14:8 and 16:11 at half-time, and the return leg is on 24 October in Vienna. Butel lost away to Croatia's Gorica 27:24: they were down 11:6, came back to 13:12 by the break and even went ahead 17:16, but conceded a 1:6 run in the last ten minutes. The return leg is on Saturday in Skopje. If they cannot make up the three goals, the European story of Stojanče Stoilov's team ends as early as October.

EHF bans Jovica Nikolić for two matches

The EHF court suspended Zagreb player Jovica Nikolić for two matches in European club competition. Nikolić was shown a direct disqualification in the 46th minute of the Champions League game against Aalborg on 14 October, and the court judged the move particularly serious and extremely dangerous, amounting to serious unsportsmanlike conduct. He will miss the games against PSG on 21 October and Celje on 28 October. An appeal can be lodged within seven days. What does one reckless move cost? This time, exactly two European nights without him.

Krim finally win, FTC still unbeaten

In round six of the women's Champions League, Krim ended a run of 10 straight defeats that stretched back to last season. It finished 24:23 against Budućnost: at 23:23 Jelena Vukčević missed a seven-metre throw for the visitors, and Nina Zulić scored from a fast break in the final minute. FTC thrashed Dortmund 39:25 for their 150th win among the elite and are the only unbeaten team after six rounds. Henny Reistad scored 10 against Brest, the club she joins next summer, in Esbjerg's 35:26 win. Podravka beat Nykøbing for their second win, and Sola surprised CSM in Bucharest.

Vojvodina, Lovćen and Dubočica go through in the EHF Cup

The Balkans came through the second round of the European Cup in good shape. Vojvodina knocked out Maccabi Rishon LeZion 67:64 on aggregate: they lost the first leg by a single goal (31:32) and won the second 36:32. Lovćen of Cetinje eliminated Berchem 74:64, with Vuk Mrvaljević scoring 18 across the two games. Dubočica got past Tenax Dobele 73:61. The craziest result was 41:41 between Motor and Slovenj Gradec, 82 goals in 60 minutes, and the return leg is on Saturday in Slovenia.