FC Porto’s coach, Magnus Andersson, is upbeat despite his team’s one-goal loss to Montpellier in the first leg of the European Handball League quarterfinals. The match was played at Porto’s home ground. “We faced a tough opponent and lost by a single goal at home,” Andersson said. “That’s not ideal, but we generally played well.” He pointed out that his team’s defensive mistakes allowed Montpellier to maintain a faster pace and be more patient in their attacks.
The second leg is scheduled to take place in Montpellier next Tuesday. Andersson expects it to be an even tougher match but is determined to lead his team to victory. “It’ll be a challenging game in France, but we’re still in this,” he said. “We’ll take the positives from our performance and go there to give it our all and try to advance.”