2026-04-30 18:45 EHF Champions League One Veszprém Aréna
Sometimes the players even managed to take a breath in the opening half of the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal… The tremendous pace and incredibly high level of play only allowed that much for the guys from Veszprém and Berlin. 37 goals, few technical errors, and one moment of brilliance after another – that roughly summed up the first thirty minutes.
Unfortunately, one thing remained constant: Füchse’s lead. They never let us take it even once during this period. The “dance” started with a penalty from Tobias Gröndahl, and before we could blink twice, the scoreboard read 3–6. But then came Hugo Descat and Ahmed Hesham (that shot into the top left corner…), and just as quickly we caught up to 6–6. Goals came alternately, occasionally interrupted by a Milosavljev save or a massive Ligetvári block, but overall the shooters dominated. Martinovic, for example, “put together” a fine hat-trick, while Dragan Pechmalbec - who was also incredible in defense - scored four times. Meanwhile, Berlin’s two most dangerous weapons, Mathias Gidsel and Lasse Andersson, were close to perfect: together they scored 12 of Füchse’s 20 first-half goals.
The second half began with two saves from Mikael Appelgren (denying Marsenic and then Gidsel), and on the other side Luka Cindric and then Pechmalbec struck, immediately reducing the deficit to one goal. Within two minutes, however, the gap grew to four again, as Berlin’s heavy shooters caught fire, with Nils Lichtlein joining the scoring. And indeed, if Appelgren hadn’t kicked out Andersson’s clear chance at 20–24, the trouble could have been even bigger. The crowd roared “Építők! Építők!”, but Füchse still pulled away to 26–21, which could have spelled serious trouble. Then came a 5–1 Veszprém run, with Lenne and Descat contributing two goals each, and Appelgren adding several saves.
What’s more, in the 50th minute, after an Appelgren save, Lenne curled in from the wing and tucked the ball into the near corner to make it 28–28. After 13–13, it was level again! Gidsel briefly turned into a terminator, but the equalizer came from an unexpected source: Stefan Dodic fired in his third goal. Then our Serbian playmaker scored his fourth to give us the lead—for the first time after 52 and a half minutes, and deservedly so given the inspiring fight in the second half. However, Gidsel and Lichtlein found another gear for Berlin, and Füchse regained the lead. This phase was marked by a scoring duel between the Danish genius (who finished with 13 goals) and Martinovic, as well as a rhythm on the scoreboard: “one for Berlin, draw, one for Berlin, draw.”
The final four minutes also began level, and after Appelgren’s astonishing kick save, we went for the go-ahead goal. And indeed, through Martinovic, we reclaimed the lead! Deafening noise, a beautiful and dramatic match, and another peak moment: Appelgren saved Gröndahl’s penalty. Could it get any better? Of course it could! When ElDeraa set it up and Martinovic finished with a “Chinese” move into the Berlin goal - then yes, it absolutely could!
In the end, it was a one-goal victory, and the chant rang out with full justification: “This is Veszprém!”
Champions League, quarterfinal, 1st leg One Veszprém–Füchse Berlin 35–34 (17–20) One Veszprém HC: Appelgren, Corrales – Petrus, Martinovic 8, Descat 8, Hesham 2, Elísson, Ligetvári, Marguc, Cindric 1, Lenne 5, Y. ElDeraa 1, Dodic 4, Pechmalbec 5, Adel 1, Ali Zein. Füchse Berlin: Milosavljev, Ludwig – Darj, Prantner, Andersson 8, Arino, Gröndahl 2, Lichtlein 5, Gidsel 13, Freihöfer 1, Cehte 1, Pichiri, Langhoff, Herburger, Av Teigum 3, Marsenic 1. Suspensions: 2 min, resp. 2 min Penalties: 5/4, resp. 5/3
STATEMENTS
Xavi Pascual, head coach of One Veszprém: „It was an incredible match - this is what everyone will take with them from the arena. The players fought unbelievably hard; even if we had lost, I would have congratulated them in the locker room. This game was the best possible advertisement for the sport. It’s a great feeling to beat Füchse, which I believe is currently the best team in the world. We prepared very well for them, and although the Germans led by five in the second half, we kept fighting, kept pushing, and worked our way back into the game. This time, the team drove the crowd into ecstasy. Then they responded and pushed us forward, which we are very grateful for! We can definitely be proud of the team, no matter what happens in the second leg.”
Nicolej Krickau, head coach of Füchse Berlin: „We witnessed a great match between two excellent teams. I’m a bit disappointed - at a five-goal lead, we should have been more focused. Veszprém surprised us with their seven-on-six play. I really appreciate the way the boys fought, and we look forward to welcoming Veszprém in Berlin in a week. Until then, we will prepare.”
Stefan Dodic, playmaker of One Veszprém: „The atmosphere like this gives the team incredible strength. The beginning of the match wasn’t easy, but fortunately in the second half we found the solution to Füchse’s game. We mainly surprised our opponent with a seven-on-six setup using four backcourt players. I’m very happy that we showed the kind of mentality we have. But this was only the first half of the tie—we’ll need to stay very focused in Berlin as well. When the coach shows trust in you in a match like this, it means a lot to me. It added a lot to my confidence, which brought out this kind of performance from me. I hope I can build on this and keep improving—there’s still room to go further.”
Max Darj, player of Füchse Berlin: „Thank you for this great match—it was an incredible quarterfinal. Now we know how different it is to play a group match here compared to a quarterfinal. The atmosphere was unbelievable. As our coach said, we could have been smarter in the middle of the second half when we had a big lead. But today, the smarter decisions were on Veszprém’s side, and the seven-on-six play worked in their favor. We’re looking forward to the second leg!”
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2026-06-05 08:57
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