Initially scheduled on Sunday 30 March, the game between RK Partizan AdmiralBet and AEK Athens HC had to be postponed due to security reasons. Following the decision of the European Handball Federation, the second leg of the tie was rescheduled for Monday 7 April and took place on neutral ground in the Shumen Arena in Bulgaria.
- the game was played behind closed doors without the presence of any spectators
- it was a tight battle in the first half, when the lead alternated between the two sides; AEK Athens HC managed to distance themselves to two goals (4:2) in the first minutes, but could not increase the gap and instead allowed the Serbian side to level the game at 4:4 thanks to Lazar Andjelkovic’s first goal in the match
- RK Partizan AdmiralBet went into the break slightly ahead of their opponents (11:10) and benefited from a shift in pace to quickly extend the gap to three at the beginning of the second half; the match reached a crucial moment in the 45th minute, when Miodrag Corsovic netted to bring the score to 20:15, thus erasing the Greek side’s five-goal advantage from the first leg (27:22)
- the difference stayed the same from then on and 30 seconds before the final whistle, the tie was still undecided, as AEK Athens HC were five goals behind and had one more attack left; a save by Saeid Heidarirad prevented the opponents from getting closer and the scoreboard showed 24:19 at the end of the 60 minutes, as the game continued with a penalty shootout
- the two teams were neck-and-neck until a marvellous save by Dan Tepper decided the final result of the tie; despite a 30:26 victory and 10 goals by Nikola Crnoglavac, RK Partizan AdmiralBet failed to progress to the semi-finals, as former champions AEK Athens HC — who conquered the trophy in 2020/21 — took an aggregate win (53:52) and now aim for their second title
All set for the EHF European Cup Men 2024/25 semi-finals
The quarter-finals officially came to an end after AEK Athens HC secured the last semi-final berth and we now know what to expect in the next stage of the competition.
Following the draw on 25 February that decided the semi-final pairings, AEK Athens HC are set to meet HC Izvidac, while HC Alkaloid and Runar Sandefjord will also fight for a place in the finals.
The first leg of the semi-finals will take place on 19/20 April, with the return fixture being scheduled one week later on 26/27 April, when we will find out who is closer to achieving their dream.
