The Last 16 of the EHF European Cup Women 2022/23 threw off with five first-leg matches this weekend.
Spain have three teams remaining in contention for the trophy, and two of them played their games on Sunday.
- Motive.co Gijon travelled to Czech Republic, where they beat Hazena Kynzvart, 26:24
- ATTICGO BM Elche played at home against the Serbian side ZORK Jagodina and took a commanding win, 31:19
- on Saturday, two games were held in Turkey. Izmir BSB SK beat Maccabi Arazim Ramat gan (ISR) 27:20, and Antalya Konyaalti BSK shared the spoils with Sport Lisboa e Benfica (POR), 35:35
- also on Saturday, MKS IUVENTA Michalovce from Slovakia claimed a 22:20 away victory at KPR Gminy Kobierzyce in Poland
- five second-leg encounters and three double-headers will take place next weekend, from 13 to 15 January
Gijon wake up after slow start
The start of the match against Kynzvart was hardly inspiring for Gijon, as the Spanish side were down 8:2 midway through the first half.
However, they weathered the storm. A 6:0 run in the next six minutes helped Gijon to draw level, and although the home side were in front at the break (12:10), the Spanish team dominated the second half to earn a two-goal win.