Nürnberg say goodbye, Oltchim in difficult position

Valcea crashed Nürnberg by 39-27 after a memorable first half. Valcea decided the game already in the first 30 minutes. A brilliant Narcisa Lecusanu and a high-class Luminita Dinu helped Valcea to master a 23-9 lead before the break.

The difference was even bigger by the 47th minute, 35-16. At that point Nürnberg somehow managed to get back into the game and reduce the gap, especially after Valcea sent some youngsters on court for the end.

The best scorers of Oltchim were Lecusanu with 8 goals and Stanca with 7. Nürnberg’s Beck, Wohlbold and Popluharova finished the game with 5 goals each.

Still, Nürnberg coach, Herbert Müller, was satisfied after the game:

“This was a fantastic season for my team. Nobody gave us any chances to reach the Main Round, but we were able to fight for the semi-finals up until now. I have to congratulate all my players. For sure this will be a season to remember for us,” said a very satisfied Nürnberg coach.

“We won today, but the point lost in Nürnberg will cost us very much. We are about to say goodbye to the Champions League. We really thought we could reach the semi-finals, but it was probably not our time. Maybe next season,” said the Valcea coach, Gheorghe Tadici.

Oltchim are third in the group now, one point behind Lada that won in Győr. Valcea will play at home against the leaders Győr in the last round, while Lada seem to have an easier task: they will play at home against Nürnberg knowing that a victory would take them to the EHF Champions League semi-finals for the second season in a row.