HC Dinamo Minsk snatch first victory in 2013/2014 EHF Champions League

The handball club Dinamo Minsk have won the first game of the 2013/2014 EHF Champions League against FYR Macedonia’s Vardar.

The game took place at the Palace of Sport in Minsk on 25 September. HC Dinamo Misnk won 26:24 (11:11). At the beginning of the first half the opponents could not break the deadlock for a long time but then Dinamo managed to take the 8:4 lead. The guests, however, collected themselves and struck back with four unanswered goals to make it 11:11, the score which the home crowd witnessed at half time. After the break both clubs did not let each other take the lead of more than two goals but in the last five minutes Dinamo were stronger to win 26:24. This was their first victory in the new edition of the EHF Champions League. Dinamo’s Serbian goalie Dimitrije Pejanovic put up a great performance, as in the lost PSG match (30:34), making unbelievable saves. Dinamo’s Sergei Shelmenko led the way with six goals, while Denis Rutenko, Dean Bombac and Damir Doborac scored four times each.

Head coach Boris Denic’s Dinamo are set to play their next game against Switzerland’s Wacker Thun at the Palace of Sport on 10 October. In the first tour the Swiss side lost to another FYR Macedonian club HC Metalurg 22:23 away. On 28 September Wacker Thun will encounter Spain’s Barcelona away. The same day will see France’s PSG facing HC Metalurg in Skopje.

Four best teams from each of the four groups will enter the playoff round. The last 16 round fixtures are scheduled for late March 2014, while the quarterfinals will be played in the second half of April. Winners of these quarterfinals will proceed to the VELUX EHF Final Four, which will be played on 31 May and 1 June in Germany’s Koln.