What a thriller in Sweden. The final shot of the second leg decided the aggregate winners of the Last 16 pairing of IK Sävehof and Kadetten Schaffhausen.
The hosts were unable to score with their last attack, which meant the Swiss side squeezed into the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2009/10 season and will face Wisla Plock in the quarter-finals.
LAST 16:
IK Sävehof (SWE) vs Kadetten Schaffhausen (SUI) 34:28 (19:15)
Kadetten Schaffhausen win on away goals after aggregate 60:60 draw
- Kadetten progress after they scored 28 away goals compared to 26 by Sävehof after both sides won their home matches by a six-goal margin
- Thanks to a 3:0 run, Sävehof pulled ahead for their first four-goal lead - and kept the margin that way until the break. The biggest gap in the first 30 minutes were five goals at 17:12
- right after the break, two goals from Felix Möller and one from Sebastian Karlsson made the score to 22:15, which was a margain that would put Sävehof in the quarter-finals
- Sävehof’s goalkeeper Bertram Obling impressed - and finished with 15 saves - but Kadetten managed to shift the momentum and reduced the gap to only three goals by the 46th minute with the score 24:27
- boosted by outstanding strikers Sebastian Karlsson with eight goals and Elias Ellefsen a Skipagotu with seven, Sävehof managed got back on course for the quarter-finals - but were unable to complete the task
Pure adrenaline in the last minute
The final minute was full of thrills: Sävehof were ahead 33:28, when Elias Ellefsen a Skipagotu scored before the referees ruled it out.
Sävehof played with man-on-man defence and managed to secure a turnover. Felix Möller scored to make the score 34:28 as Sävehof again put pressure on the visitors. Lukas Herburger failed with his last shot against goalkeeper Bertram Obling - but his pass was too long, and time was over leaving the Kadetten players to dance on the court.
I thought we started well but a strong Sävehof goalkeeper kept us from making an even better start. When we made too many mistakes, we were punished with their goals from fast-breaks, but then during the second half we were a bit more stable. Most of all, our goalkeeper had six or seven saves that gave the team more confidence. In the end, it was all about mental toughness and as a team, we’re very happy to go through to the next round.
