FCBARCELONA.CAT

03.04.2010 17:45

Barça come back to reach quarters (36-33)

Verònica Díez

FC Barcelona Borges qualified for the quarter finals of the handball European Championships after a dramatic late comeback to secure their second win against Osiguranje in the Palau on Saturday.

The Catalan were seven goals behind with only minutes remaining, but mounted a stunning turnaround to win the match and progress to the next phase. Barça did not find things as comfortable as they had done in the opening meeting and were made to work hard for their victory by the visiting Croatian side and looked at one stage to be on the verge of losing as the visitors moved into a 26-33 lead.

Defensive quality

The Osiguranje defence was in mean mood in the early stages and sought to stop their hosts from being able to make much headway going forward. But Barça Borges remained calm and tried to work their way into a lead and they were able to thank Juanín García for a stand-out performance as he achieved a personal record best ten goals for the first time in Europe this season.

Having gained a slight lead early on Barça son realised how hard this game was going to be as they found themselves 11-15 behind and only a rally before the break allowed them to start the second period just one goal behind at 17-18.

Great courage

Barça showed great courage in the second half with Iker Romero, in particular, standing out from the crowd as he helped the home team forge into a 25-24 lead. That did not last long though as the Croats came back and looked to have won the game as they lead by no less than seven points with only minutes to go. But a change in the defence of Barça meant that they won back possession three times and went on a scoring spree to win by three points.