AEK Rout Anorthosis 37-21 to Take Big Lead in EHF European Cup

By Taki Panos

For most of the first half, Anorthosis looked like they had read the script differently. Then the second half arrived and AEK tore it up. The Greek side beat Sabbianco Anorthosis Famagusta 37-21 on Saturday at the OAKA Kassimatis hall in Maroussi, in the first leg of the second round of the EHF European Cup, as Sport24 reported. That leaves AEK with a 16-goal cushion for the return leg in Cyprus on October 25. A one-goal game at the break became a rout, and it happened fast.

For readers who do not follow European handball closely, the EHF European Cup is the third of the continent's club competitions, behind the Champions League and the European League, per Wikipedia's tournament overview. This season, 64 teams from 32 countries entered round 2, and Greece has five clubs in the draw, more than any other nation, the European Handball Federation noted in its preview. AEK, the handball department of the famous Athens multi-sport club (more on its story in our AEK facts page), is one of six former champions still in the field.

The Cypriot side started sharper. Anorthosis led 4-1 early, AEK's own match report said, and were still ahead 9-8 after 15 minutes, according to Politis' Gipedo. AEK slowly found their rhythm, went in front 10-9 and 12-11, and took a 16-15 lead into halftime when Matsuoka converted a penalty right at the buzzer. At that point it looked like a proper two-legged tie, the kind where you keep the calculator handy.

The second half was a different sport. AEK came out with their foot on the gas, dominated at both ends and quickly opened up a 21-15 lead, ERT Sports reported. Anorthosis did not score their first goal of the second half until the 43rd minute, when they cut it to 23-16, per Sport24. Charitonidis pushed the gap into double digits at 29-19, and Barros closed out the 37-21 win. Do the math on that and AEK won the second half 21-6. That is not a run, that is a shutdown.

The scoring was spread around. Torriani led AEK with nine goals, Koukoulas added six and Batis four, while Arampatzis, Charitonidis and Vistorop scored three apiece, according to the official EHF match sheet. Eleven different AEK players found the net, and the team went four for four from the penalty line. Coach Alexis Alvanos will like that balance more than any single big night, because nobody can mark eleven people at once.

Anorthosis had their own bright spots. Bingo and Kaimakamis scored four goals each for the visitors, the EHF match sheet shows, and Cypriot coverage stressed how close they stayed before the break. The team lost "despite the considerable effort it made, mainly in the first half" (translated from Greek), Ant1 Live wrote. Sixteen goals is a mountain, though, and they know it. French referees Rafik Heddid and Morgan Picot took charge of the game, per the EHF, in front of a crowd listed at 250.

There is a bit of history wrapped up in this pairing too. Anorthosis are a Famagusta club that was forced to relocate to Larnaca after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, as Wikipedia's club history notes, and the return leg will be played at the Kition Sports Center in Larnaca, per the EHF. For Greek and Cypriot fans, a Greece against Cyprus tie always feels a little like family, even when the scoreline gets lopsided.

AEK's European record explains why they are favorites at this level. They won this very competition in 2021, beating Sweden's Ystads IF 30-26 and 24-20 in the final, the EHF reported at the time, and became only the second Greek winner of a European club competition after Diomidis Argous lifted the Challenge Cup in 2012. "This crowd deserves a European cup, my players are absolutely fantastic," then coach Dimitris Dimitroulias said that night. The EHF preview also lists AEK as runners-up in 2017/18 and 2024/25.

That last final is the awkward chapter. The second leg against North Macedonia's HC Alkaloid in Skopje on May 25, 2025, was called off, and the EHF Court of Handball ruled that AEK had been obligated to play and had refused, awarding Alkaloid the game 10-0 and the title. The court later fined AEK 20,000 euros and suspended the club from EHF competitions for two seasons, with half of that suspended for a two-year probation period, per the EHF. The EHF Court of Appeal confirmed those sanctions in September 2025.

So this campaign is, in a sense, a fresh start, and AEK are not the only Greek side looking strong. Olympiacos, runners-up in 2023/24 according to the EHF, also won their first leg in this round, beating Netland Kalisz 30-24. With five Greek clubs in round 2, there is a real chance several of them reach the last 32. For a country where handball usually lives in the shadow of football and basketball, that is a nice headline to have.

My take: Saturday's first half is the part AEK should study, not the second. Falling behind 4-1 and needing a buzzer-beating penalty to lead by one at home is not ideal against an opponent you then beat by 16. Still, the response after the break was exactly what a former champion should produce, with defense driving everything and eleven players chipping in. Given the probation still hanging over the club, a quiet, professional run with no off-court headlines would be worth as much as any trophy talk.

The return leg is set for Sunday, October 25, at 8:15 PM at the Kition Sports Center in Larnaca, Gipedo reported, which is the same time in Greece. Barring something truly strange, AEK should be in the round 3 draw soon after. Keep an eye on our Greek Sports section for more Greek handball and European results. Sixteen goals to protect. Not a bad Sunday problem.

Sources: Sport24, AEK, ERT Sports, Gipedo, Ant1 Live, EHF match sheet, EHF preview, EHF 2021 final report, EHF Court of Handball, EHF sanctions, EHF Court of Appeal, Wikipedia.

Image: Yellow flag with a black double-headed eagle in AEK colors by Kanchelskis, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).