End of Day 1 at the IKF Europa Cup 2018 in Platja d’Aro. A great first day of competition, with some really close, surprising and exciting games. Take a look at today’s reports and results.

KCC SC Budejovice – SG Pegasus 15-16

For those that like close games, the first day of the tournament could not have a better start. The German champion was nearly always leading with the smallest difference. As it seemed to come to a golden goal, at the end the Czech team did not manage to close the gap. Both teams may look back on a excellent performance.

CK Vallparadis – AKC Luma 8 – 15

In the first half it seemed unpredictable to determine a winner (6-8) The Belgians had much trouble with the inside moves of the Catalan team with penalties as a consequence. After tea the Catalans missed many opportunities to keep in the loop and AKC seized the occasion to bring in reserve players.

Top/Solar Compleet – Trojans 20 – 10

Both teams started slowly giving Trojans the chance to have the lead in the beginning of the match. However once the tactical setup was respected, the Dutch created what would turn out to be a big difference at the end. It was not easy for the Trojans to keep the motivation against the giants of TOP. Both teams, focussing on other projects, tried to avoid injuries rather than to struggle for the possession of the ball.

NC Benfica – SZAC Budapest 15 – 13

Nobody could predict that the champion team of Portugal would have to struggle so hard to beat the best Hungarian team in years. Korfball is flourishing in both nations. Both organised many tournaments in the recent past and, especially in Hungary, exchange of experience was beneficial for the level of play. Only at the very end of the match, Benfica was able to assure a narrow win.

Top/Solar Compleet – SG Pegasus 30 – 20

AKC/Luma – SZAC Budapest 19 – 6

CK Vallparadis – NC Benfica 16 – 18

The battle of the Iberian peninsula is always a thrilling match, highly enjoyed by numerous spectators. Earlier that day Benfica had much trouble to beat SZAC. However in this game they started extremely motivated with much pressure in defence and quick moves in attack. Vallparadis tried everything to take the lead but every time when it seemed that they would be able to equalise, the Portugese champion answered accurately.

KCC Budejovice – Trojans KC 17 – 25

With only four teams in the Czech extra league, suffering from a lack of high levelled matches, Budejovice could never claim a victory against a very experienced team of Trojans. One could have expected a close game between teams that are considered to be equally strong. This was clearly not the case. Trojans remain with high hopes for the rest of the tournament.

Before these two last matches, the audience witnessed an exciting opening ceremony with some young musicians. There were speeches from the president of the organising club, from the mayor of Platja d’Aro and from the coordinating officer, representing the IKF. As always the ceremony was closed with the IKF hymn, a symbol of the united korfball family.

Day 2 (Morning games): For more info visit www.worldkorfball.org

For IKF ECUP 2018 on worldkorfball.org: CLICK HERE
For ikfchannel on YouTube: CLICK HERE

Official event site on Facebook: www.facebook.com/events/147931785836069

All images, reports, interviews, videos and curiosities will be available live 24/7 on IKF social media profiles (#ECUP2018):

• facebook.com/korfball.org
• twitter.com/korfball
• instagram.com/korfball_org

Day 1 Image gallery (by Marco Spelten and Gertrude de Vries)