Vardar Suffer Third Champions League Defeat, Čupić Takes the Blame, and Gidsel Reaches a Record 17 Goals

Vardar 26:32 Wisła Płock: a third defeat and the shame of applause

Vardar – Wisła Płock 26:32 at the "Jane Sandanski", a third defeat in the third round of the Champions League group stage. Vardar are bottom of the group and still without a point. The Poles led 8:3 after 11 minutes, the hosts closed to within two goals by half-time, but after the break Płock went 27:19 up and the match was settled. Fadhuil scored 14 goals, more than half of his whole team's total. Coach Ivan Čupić took all the blame: playing "seven against six" from the very start was his mistake. "It would have been easier for me if the fans had booed us and left," he said, ashamed that the stands stayed to applaud after the defeat. The return match is on Wednesday in Poland.

Gidsel's 17 goals equal a 17-year-old record

Mathias Gidsel scored 17 goals from 19 attempts in Füchse Berlin's 40:32 win over Porto, equalling the Champions League record set 17 years ago by Jesús "Chuchi" Martínez de la Cal. The Dane now leads the scoring chart even more convincingly. In the same round Barcelona recorded their 19th consecutive win in the competition, 34:27 over Dinamo Bucharest, and Niklas Landin's Aalborg won 33:23 in Zagreb. Aarhus celebrated the first Champions League win in their history, 36:32 over two-time champions Montpellier. Porto didn't lose to Berlin. They lost to Gidsel.

Ohrid hand Alkaloid their first defeat, Vardar the only side with six from six

GRK Ohrid – RK Alkaloid 26:24 at "Biljanini Izvori", in the derby of the sixth round of the Superleague. Alkaloid led 7:4, but Boris Rojević's side went into the break 15:11 up and by the 43rd minute led by six. Dominik Máthé and Tilen Strmljan scored 6 each, the same as Nikola Kosteski for Kiril Lazarov's team. For Alkaloid it's the first defeat after five straight wins. RK Vardar, after their loss in Europe, comfortably beat Struga 33:24 and remain the only team with a perfect record, with Eurofarm Pelister a point behind and still unbeaten. At home, Vardar have no rival for now. In Europe, they're still looking for their first point.

Szeged come back from five down to take a point against Sporting

Pick Szeged – Sporting 35:35 in a match the Portuguese already had in their pocket. In the 49th minute they led 28:23, and then Mario Šoštarić, who finished with 11 goals, led a 7:3 run with four of his own. Jan Gurri put the visitors ahead once more at 35:34 with less than a minute left, but Dmytro Horiha equalised 14 seconds before the buzzer. In handball, a five-goal lead with ten minutes to go isn't an advantage - it's an invitation.

Budućnost end a run of nine defeats, Krim still pointless

The women's side Budućnost from Podgorica ended a run of nine consecutive defeats in the Champions League with a narrow win over Norway's Sola, who arrived with just 12 players. Ivana Godec scored 7, Sola levelled at 20:20 in the 54th minute, and goalkeeper Armelle Attingré saved the counter-attack that could have brought another equaliser. In the same round Slovenia's Krim lost 31:37 to Dortmund and, along with Sola and Blomberg-Lippe, is the only team without a point. Clubs that once conquered Europe now celebrate beating a side with twelve players. What happened to the Balkan school?