Nantes beat Orlen Wisła Płock 26:25 (11:11) in a dramatic EHF Champions League handball match, scoring the winning goal from a penalty awarded a second before the final whistle.
Wisła Płock, the reigning Polish runners-up, raced into a 5:0 lead inside the opening nine minutes of the away fixture. But the Polish side then failed to score for eleven minutes, between the 18th and 29th minute, allowing Nantes to draw level by halftime. The break score stayed even at 11:11 largely because Wisła goalkeeper Miljan Vujović performed well between the posts.
Commentators on Wisła's collapse
Speaking at halftime, commentators for Polsat Sport said they had mixed feelings, having had high hopes after such a strong start, but that after the later collapse the team could not complain about a draw. They said Wisła needed to keep defending as well as they had while improving their attack and playing in a more varied way, adding that the team had relied too heavily on short crossing plays and individual actions from its playmakers that had produced little.
This season's Champions League runs in a revised format, with six groups of four teams each and the top two in every group advancing to the next round.
Red card and refereeing drama
Wisła's attack did not improve after the break, and their individual play proved ineffective. Nantes led 17:14 by the 39th minute after a successful counterattack, prompting Wisła coach Sabate to call a timeout.
Wisła played better afterward, but in the 44th minute their defensive mainstay, Spanish player Oriol Rey Morales, was sent off with a red card after picking up his third two-minute suspension, a penalty that carries an automatic red card under handball rules.
Kosorotov scored his first goal of the match in the 50th minute to bring Wisła within one goal at 20:21, setting up a tense finish. In the 54th minute, one of the two match officials had to leave the court because of health problems, leaving his colleague to referee the rest of the game alone.
Late penalty decides the match
A minute later, Dawydzik leveled the score at 23:23. Tournat then scored from the pivot position in the 59th minute, but Dawydzik equalized again with just 35 seconds left on the clock.
One second before time, Nantes were awarded a penalty after a foul on Tournat. Wisła's experienced Croatian goalkeeper, Mirko Alilović, went in for the save but could not stop Noam Leopold's shot, handing Nantes the 26:25 win.
What's next for Wisła Płock
Orlen Wisła Płock will play their second Champions League group match at home against German side MT Melsungen on Thursday, September 17, kicking off at 18:45.
Wisła's scorers against Nantes were Dawydzik with seven goals, Janc with six, Ilić with four, Kosorotov and Richardson with three each, and Fazekas with two.
