Pick Szeged 29-29 FC Barcelona: Draw that felt like a win
A very emboldening draw for the Barça handball team away to Hungarian side Pick Szeged (29-29). Trailing for almost the entire game, the blaugranes managed to make do without their missing players, scoring two goals in the final minute for a deserved draw in the EHF Champions League.
Poor first half
The trip to Hungary had no potential bearing on qualification for the blaugranes, as they were already through to the quarterfinals. However, a tough match was expected due to many injured players missing and the Hungarian side having something still to play for.
The pre-match prediction was right and although the blaugranes started slowly, it was the total opposite for the home side. Emil Nielsen did his best, but their intensity saw them go 5-2 up in a sign of things to come in the first half. Barça managed to tie the score on seven, but Pick Szeged responded, going five up (13-8), led by Champions League top scorer Sostaric. The game could have gone at this point, but two and three goals without reply respectively either side of half-time tied up the game (17-17).
Lead taken and Oriol Sanfelipe debut
The blaugrana fightback set things up nicely for the rest of the game, and Pick Szeged scored two before a superb double save by Nielsen from seven metres prevented a third. Then a red card for Bánhidi on Blaz Janc allowed Barça to score two through Frade to go ahead in the game for the first time (20-21).
The home side soon hit back, but Carlsbogard took on the attacking mantle, with two goals and an assist to level the scores again (24-24). Barça had a couple of minutes of jeopardy when debutant Oriol Sanfelipe was sent off for two minutes, but they managed it well, before each side was nip and tuck in terms of the scoring.
Draw when all seemed lost
All to play for with five minutes to go, Thulin saved from Aleix, before Pick Szeged scored to go up 29-27. Only a minute and a half left and it looked an impossible task, but this Barça side is resilient, scoring and then forcing a foul in attack, before an unlikely scorer in Thiagus Petrus made it 29-29 at the close. A draw that definitely feels like a win.
GAME STATS
Pick Szeged: 29
Barça: 29
Pick Szeged: Mikler (0), Rød (4), Smarason (4), Bodó (2), Frimmel (1), Bánhidi (3) and Sostaric (7) - starting seven - Thulin (0), Jelinic (1), Kalarash (1), Toto (1), Kukic (2), Rea (0), Garciandia (3), Mackovsek (0) and Szilagyi (0).
Barça: Nielsen (0), Janc (3), Richardson (3), Petrus (1), Carslbogard (5), Frade (5) and Ortega (3) - starting seven - Saric (-), Makuc (1), Bazán (-), Valera (1), N'Guessan (1), Aleix (5), Sola (-), Sanfelipe (0) and Javi Rodríguez (1).
Periods: 3-2, 7-6, 9-7, 13-9, 15-11, 17-14 / half-time / 19-18, 20-20, 23-22, 25-25, 27-27, 29-29.
Referees: Igor Covallciuc and Alexei Covalciuc.