# 2017–18 Women's EHF Cup

The 2017–18 Women's EHF Cup was the 37th edition of EHF's second-tier women's handball competition. It started on 8 September 2017.
SCM Craiova defeated Vipers Kristiansand 52–51 in the final to win their first title.

## Overview
### Team allocation

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:
* TH: Title holders
* CWC: EHF Women's Cup Winners' Cup holders
* 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position
* CW: Domestic cup winners
* CR: Domestic cup runners-up
* CL QT: Losers from the Champions League qualification stage.
* CL Group: Losers from the Champions League group stage.
Group stage :
| Vistal Gdynia (4th CL Group A) | Brest Bretagne Handball (4th CL Group B) | Larvik HK (4th CL Group C) | Vipers Kristiansand (4th CL Group D) |
| Round 3 ||||
| Randers HK (CW) | Érd HC (3rd) | Podravka Vegeta (2nd CL QT1) | H 65 Höör (2nd CL QT2) |
| Lada (2nd) | SCM Craiova (CR) | HC Gomel (3rd CL QT1) | Hypo Niederösterreich (3rd CL QT2) |
| Round 2 ||||
| København Håndbold (2nd) | Zvezda Zvenigorod (4th) | HC Zalău (3rd) | DHK Baník Most (1st) |
| Viborg HK (4th) | Astrakhanochka (6th) | TusSies Metzingen (3rd) | Kastamonu Belediyesi (4th CL QT1) |
| DKKA Dunaujvaros KA (4th) | Glassverket IF (3rd) | Buxtehuder SV (4th) | Mecalia Atlético Guardés (4th CL QT2) |
| Debreceni VSC-TVP (Cup 3rd) | Tertnes Bergen (CR) | Issy Paris Hand (3rd) | |
| Kuban (3rd) | HC Dunărea Brăila (2nd) | ES Besançon Feminin HB (4th) | |
| Round 1 ||||
| Silkeborg-Voel KFUM (5th) | Metraco Zagłębie Lubin (2nd) | Galychanka (1st) | O.F.N. Ionias (1st) |
| Váci NKSE (5th) | KRAM Start Elbląg (3rd) | DHC Slavia Prague | HB Sint-Truiden |
| Byåsen Handball Elite (4th) | Ankara Yenimahalle BSK (2nd) | LC Brühl Handball (1st) | Nur Mingechavir |
| CSM Roman (5th) | Super Amara Bera Bera (2nd) | LK Zug (2nd) | KHF Prishtina |
| HSG Blomberg-Lippe (9th) | Succes Schoonmaak/VOC (1st) | HC BNTU-BelAZ Minsk | HC Holon |
| Cercle Dijon Bourgogne (5th) | Morrenhof Jansen/Dalfsen (2nd) | Colégio de Gaia (1st) | HŽRK Grude |
| Lugi HF | ŽRK Medicinar | Jomi Salerno (1st) | AC Latsia Nicosia |

## Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the EHF headquarters in Vienna, Austria):
| Phase | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
| Qualification | First qualifying round | 18 July 2017 | 9–10 September 2017 | 16–17 September 2017 |
| Qualification | Second qualifying round | 18 July 2017 | 14–15 October 2017 | 21–22 October 2017 |
| Qualification | Third qualifying round | 24 October 2017 | 11–12 November 2017 | 18–19 November 2017 |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 23 November 2017 | 6–7 January 2018 | 6–7 January 2018 |
| Group stage | Matchday 2 | 23 November 2017 | 13–14 January 2018 | 13–14 January 2018 |
| Group stage | Matchday 3 | 23 November 2017 | 20–21 January 2018 | 20–21 January 2018 |
| Group stage | Matchday 4 | 23 November 2017 | 27–28 January 2018 | 27–28 January 2018 |
| Group stage | Matchday 5 | 23 November 2017 | 3–4 February 2018 | 3–4 February 2018 |
| Group stage | Matchday 6 | 23 November 2017 | 10–11 February 2018 | 10–11 February 2018 |
| Knockout phase | Quarter-finals | 13 February 2018 | 3–4 March 2018 | 10–11 March 2018 |
| Knockout phase | Semi finals | 13 February 2018 | 7–8 April 2018 | 14–15 April 2018 |
| Knockout phase | Final | 17 April 2018 | 5–6 May 2018 | 12–13 May 2018 |

## Qualification stage
### Round 1

There is 28 teams participating in round 1.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| KHF Prishtina | 26–66 | LC Brühl Handball | 11–34 | 15–32 |
| Váci NKSE | 90–35 | HC Holon | 46–17 | 44–18 |
| Metraco Zagłębie Lubin | 80–47 | LK Zug | 37–24 | 43–23 |
| HSG Blomberg-Lippe | 88–35 | HB Sint-Truiden | 46–19 | 42–16 |
| CSM Roman | 82–34 | HŽRK Grude | 40–15 | 42–19 |
| Silkeborg-Voel KFUM | 80–20 | AC Latsia Nicosia | 44–12 | 36–8 |
| Cercle Dijon Bourgogne | 51–40 | Jomi Salerno | 27–18 | 24–22 |
| Super Amara Bera Bera | 57–48 | Colégio de Gaia | 26–25 | 31–23 |
| DHC Slavia Prague | 48–49 | HC BNTU-BelAZ Minsk | 24–25 | 24–24 |
| KRAM Start Elbląg | 47–62 | Byåsen Handball Elite | 29–34 | 18–28 |
| ŽRK Medicinar | 63–61 | Succes Schoonmaak/VOC | 34–33 | 29–28 |
| Galychanka | 46–52 | Morrenhof Jansen/Dalfsen | 26–22 | 20–30 |
| Ankara Yenimahalle BSK | 61–46 | O.F.N. Ionias | 31–24 | 30–22 |
| Nur Mingechavir | 53–51 | Lugi HF | 24–24 | 29–27 |

#### Notes
### Round 2

There is 32 teams participating in round 2.
14 teams who qualified from round 1 and 18 teams joining the draw.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Metraco Zagłębie Lubin | 45–49 | Debreceni VSC-TVP | 25–23 | 20–26 |
| Morrenhof Jansen/Dalfsen | 48–60 | DHK Baník Most | 28–32 | 20–28 |
| HC BNTU-BelAZ Minsk | 52–52 (a) | Tertnes Bergen | 26–23 | 26–29 |
| Cercle Dijon Bourgogne | 50–60 | København Håndbold | 23–32 | 27–28 |
| Silkeborg-Voel KFUM | 50–54 | ES Besançon Feminin HB | 27–26 | 23–28 |
| HC Zalău | 60–50 | Ankara Yenimahalle BSK | 26–21 | 34–29 |
| Kastamonu Belediyesi | 59–57 | Super Amara Bera Bera | 35–35 | 24–22 |
| DKKA Dunaujvaros KA | 56–51 | CSM Roman | 31–24 | 25–27 |
| Byåsen Handball Elite | 48–46 | HC Dunărea Brăila | 28–18 | 20–28 |
| Buxtehuder SV | 55–55 (a) | Váci NKSE | 33–26 | 22–29 |
| TusSies Metzingen | 60–51 | HSG Blomberg-Lippe | 32–24 | 28–27 |
| LC Brühl Handball | 53–53 (a) | Zvezda Zvenigorod | 25–29 | 28–24 |
| Nur Mingechavir | 36–81 | Viborg HK | 21–38 | 15–43 |
| Issy Paris Hand | 49–39 | Glassverket IF | 23–22 | 26–17 |
| Astrakhanochka | 61–55 | Mecalia Atlético Guardés | 28–25 | 33–30 |
| ŽRK Medicinar | 45–68 | Kuban | 23–33 | 22–35 |

#### Notes
### Round 3

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Byåsen Handball Elite | 59–50 | HC Gomel | 32–28 | 27–22 |
| HC BNTU-BelAZ Minsk | 46–48 | Randers HK | 23–22 | 23–26 |
| Viborg HK | 52–38 | Podravka Vegeta | 32–17 | 20–21 |
| Lada | 66–54 | ES Besançon Feminin HB | 30–22 | 36–32 |
| SCM Craiova | 48–45 | Debreceni VSC-TVP | 24–19 | 24–26 |
| Váci NKSE | 53–62 | Kastamonu Belediyesi | 24–26 | 29–36 |
| Astrakhanochka | 58–60 | Kuban | 29–27 | 29–33 |
| H 65 Höör | 53–52 | TusSies Metzingen | 24–24 | 29–28 |
| København Håndbold | 45–41 | Dunaújvárosi KKA | 22–21 | 23–20 |
| Érd HC | 51–52 | Issy Paris Hand | 31–21 | 20–31 |
| Zvezda Zvenigorod | 53–61 | DHK Baník Most | 31–28 | 22–33 |
| Hypo Niederösterreich | 43–59 | HC Zalău | 22–30 | 21–29 |

## Group stage

The seedings were announced on 23 November 2017.
Teams in the draw will be protected against meeting teams from the same country in the same group. In each group, teams played against each other in a double round-robin format, with home and away matches.

### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BRE | CRA | KUB | RAN |
| 1 | Brest Bretagne Handball | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 139 | 117 | +22 | 8 | Quarterfinals | — | 25–22 | 30–16 | 23–15 |
| 2 | SCM Craiova | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 146 | 134 | +12 | 8 | Quarterfinals | 16–15 | — | 30–24 | 23–17 |
| 3 | Kuban | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 141 | 155 | −14 | 6 | | 22–28 | 28–26 | — | 28–21 |
| 4 | Randers HK | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 124 | 144 | −20 | 2 | | 26–18 | 25–29 | 20–23 | — |
* 1 2 Brest Bretagne Handball HC 40–38 SCM Craiova

### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | LAD | VIP | PAR | KOE |
| 1 | Lada | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 160 | 147 | +13 | 10 | Quarterfinals | — | 29–24 | 25–24 | 27–24 |
| 2 | Vipers Kristiansand | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 156 | 150 | +6 | 6 | Quarterfinals | 30–21 | — | 22–23 | 30–23 |
| 3 | Issy Paris Hand | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 146 | 156 | −10 | 5 | | 17–27 | 24–25 | — | 28–28 |
| 4 | København Håndbold | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 162 | 171 | −9 | 3 | | 28–31 | 30–25 | 29–30 | — |

### Group C

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KAS | VIB | BYA | VIS |
| 1 | Kastamonu Belediyesi | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 165 | 146 | +19 | 10 | Quarterfinals | — | 28–15 | 30–28 | 28–25 |
| 2 | Viborg HK | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 157 | 148 | +9 | 8 | Quarterfinals | 26–28 | — | 29–26 | 27–24 |
| 3 | Byåsen Håndball Elite | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 166 | 152 | +14 | 6 | | 26–24 | 21–28 | — | 41–19 |
| 4 | Vistal Gdynia | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 137 | 179 | −42 | 0 | | 26–27 | 21–32 | 22–24 | — |

### Group D

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | LAR | ZAL | HOO | BAN |
| 1 | Larvik HK | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 166 | 146 | +20 | 9 | Quarterfinals | — | 28–23 | 34–23 | 34–29 |
| 2 | HC Zalău | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 147 | 151 | −4 | 8 | Quarterfinals | 25–22 | — | 24–21 | 31–28 |
| 3 | H 65 Höör | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 158 | 150 | +8 | 6 | | 25–27 | 30–19 | — | 28–27 |
| 4 | DHK Baník Most | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 146 | 170 | −24 | 1 | | 21–21 | 22–25 | 19–31 | — |

## Knockout stage

The draw event was held at the EHF Office in Vienna on Tuesday 13 February at 11:00 hrs. The draw had determined the quarter-final and also the semi-final pairings.

### Quarterfinals
#### Seeding

| Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
| Brest Bretagne Handball Larvik HK Lada Kastamonu Belediyesi | Viborg HK Vipers Kristiansand HC Zalău SCM Craiova |
The first quarter-final leg was scheduled for 3 March, while the second leg followed one week later.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| SCM Craiova | 49–48 | Lada | 23–25 | 26–23 |
| Vipers Kristiansand | 55–51 | Brest Bretagne Handball | 26–17 | 29–34 |
| Viborg HK | 55–47 | Larvik HK | 28–21 | 27–26 |
| HC Zalău | 53–55 | Kastamonu Belediyesi | 29–28 | 24–27 |

#### Matches

| 3 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+2) | SCM Craiova | 23–25 | Lada | Polyvalent Hall, Craiova Attendance: 4,200 Referees: Lindenbaum, Laron (ISR) |
| 3 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+2) | Florianu 8 | (9–15) | Dmitrieva 8 | Polyvalent Hall, Craiova Attendance: 4,200 Referees: Lindenbaum, Laron (ISR) |
| 3 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+2) | 3× 5× | Report | 1× 8× | Polyvalent Hall, Craiova Attendance: 4,200 Referees: Lindenbaum, Laron (ISR) |
| 10 March 2018 16:00 (UTC+4) | Lada | 23–26 | SCM Craiova | Olymp Sportkomplex, Togliatti Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Chrzan, Janas (POL) |
| 10 March 2018 16:00 (UTC+4) | Dmitrieva, Novoselova 4 | (8–14) | Ardean-Elisei 9 | Olymp Sportkomplex, Togliatti Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Chrzan, Janas (POL) |
| 10 March 2018 16:00 (UTC+4) | 3× 2× | Report | 3× 3× | Olymp Sportkomplex, Togliatti Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Chrzan, Janas (POL) |
SCM Craiova won 49–48 on aggregate.
| 3 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+2) | HC Zalău | 29–28 | Kastamonu Belediyesi | Gheorge Tadici Sports Hall, Zalău Attendance: 915 Referees: Di Domenico, Fornasier (ITA) |
| 3 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+2) | Rob 9 | (12–15) | Marić, Uskova 6 | Gheorge Tadici Sports Hall, Zalău Attendance: 915 Referees: Di Domenico, Fornasier (ITA) |
| 3 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+2) | 2× 2× | Report | 3× 5× | Gheorge Tadici Sports Hall, Zalău Attendance: 915 Referees: Di Domenico, Fornasier (ITA) |
| 11 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+3) | Kastamonu Belediyesi | 27–24 | HC Zalău | Atatürk Sports Hall, Kastamonu Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Accoto Martins, Accoto Martins (POR) |
| 11 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+3) | İskenderoğlu 7 | (16–11) | Rob, Tămaș 5 | Atatürk Sports Hall, Kastamonu Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Accoto Martins, Accoto Martins (POR) |
| 11 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+3) | 2× 6× | Report | 1× 2× | Atatürk Sports Hall, Kastamonu Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Accoto Martins, Accoto Martins (POR) |
Kastamonu Belediyesi won 55–53 on aggregate.
| 3 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+1) | Vipers Kristiansand | 26–17 | Brest Bretagne Handball | Aquarama Kristiansand, Kristiansand Attendance: 1,134 Referees: Lončar, Lončar (CRO) |
| 3 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+1) | Lunde-Borgersen 8 | (12–10) | Pineau 5 | Aquarama Kristiansand, Kristiansand Attendance: 1,134 Referees: Lončar, Lončar (CRO) |
| 3 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+1) | 1× 3× | Report | 2× 5× 1× | Aquarama Kristiansand, Kristiansand Attendance: 1,134 Referees: Lončar, Lončar (CRO) |
| 10 March 2018 20:30 (UTC+1) | Brest Bretagne Handball | 34–29 | Vipers Kristiansand | Brest Arena, Brest Attendance: 3,348 Referees: Bolic, Hurich (AUT) |
| 10 March 2018 20:30 (UTC+1) | Pineau 7 | (18–17) | Sulland 10 | Brest Arena, Brest Attendance: 3,348 Referees: Bolic, Hurich (AUT) |
| 10 March 2018 20:30 (UTC+1) | 2× 3× | Report | 2× 5× | Brest Arena, Brest Attendance: 3,348 Referees: Bolic, Hurich (AUT) |
Vipers Kristiansand won 55–51 on aggregate.
| 3 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+1) | Viborg HK | 28–21 | Larvik HK | Vibocold Arena, Viborg Attendance: 1,564 Referees: Pech, Vagvölgyi (HUN) |
| 3 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+1) | Nørgaard 9 | (9–8) | Breistøl 6 | Vibocold Arena, Viborg Attendance: 1,564 Referees: Pech, Vagvölgyi (HUN) |
| 3 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+1) | 3× 5× | Report | 2× 5× | Vibocold Arena, Viborg Attendance: 1,564 Referees: Pech, Vagvölgyi (HUN) |
| 10 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+1) | Larvik HK | 26–27 | Viborg HK | Boligmappa Arena, Larvik Attendance: 652 Referees: Geraets, Geraets (NED) |
| 10 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+1) | Breistøl 8 | (13–15) | Nørgaard 7 | Boligmappa Arena, Larvik Attendance: 652 Referees: Geraets, Geraets (NED) |
| 10 March 2018 17:00 (UTC+1) | 1× 1× | Report | | Boligmappa Arena, Larvik Attendance: 652 Referees: Geraets, Geraets (NED) |
Viborg HK won 55–47 on aggregate.

### Semifinals

The semi-finals were played in the first half of April.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Kastamonu Belediyesi | 40–41 | SCM Craiova | 22–23 | 18–18 |
| Viborg HK | 57–60 | Vipers Kristiansand | 34–31 | 23–29 |

#### Matches

| 7 April 2018 17:00 | Kastamonu Belediyesi | 22–23 | SCM Craiova | Atatürk Sports Hall, Kastamonu Attendance: 1,300 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 7 April 2018 17:00 | Uskova 8 | (15–11) | Țicu 7 | Atatürk Sports Hall, Kastamonu Attendance: 1,300 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 7 April 2018 17:00 | 2× 4× | Report | 3× 4× | Atatürk Sports Hall, Kastamonu Attendance: 1,300 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 14 April 2018 18:00 | SCM Craiova | 18–18 | Kastamonu Belediyesi | Polyvalent Hall, Craiova Attendance: 4,215 Referees: Vitaku, Vitaku (KOS) |
| 14 April 2018 18:00 | Țicu 6 | (9−8) | Uskova, Marić 5 | Polyvalent Hall, Craiova Attendance: 4,215 Referees: Vitaku, Vitaku (KOS) |
| 14 April 2018 18:00 | 4× 3× | Report | 3× 3× | Polyvalent Hall, Craiova Attendance: 4,215 Referees: Vitaku, Vitaku (KOS) |
SCM Craiova won 41–40 on aggregate.
| 7 April 2018 16:00 | Viborg HK | 34–31 | Vipers Kristiansand | Vibocold Arena, Viborg Attendance: 2,020 Referees: Bounouara, Sami (FRA) |
| 7 April 2018 16:00 | Jørgensen 11 | (18–16) | Sulland 6 | Vibocold Arena, Viborg Attendance: 2,020 Referees: Bounouara, Sami (FRA) |
| 7 April 2018 16:00 | 3× 3× | Report | 2× 2× | Vibocold Arena, Viborg Attendance: 2,020 Referees: Bounouara, Sami (FRA) |
| 14 April 2018 16:00 | Vipers Kristiansand | 29–23 | Viborg HK | Aquarama Kristiansand, Kristiansand Attendance: 2,012 Referees: Arntsen, Røen (NOR) |
| 14 April 2018 16:00 | Brattset 9 | (15–14) | Jørgensen 8 | Aquarama Kristiansand, Kristiansand Attendance: 2,012 Referees: Arntsen, Røen (NOR) |
| 14 April 2018 16:00 | 4× 2× | Report | | Aquarama Kristiansand, Kristiansand Attendance: 2,012 Referees: Arntsen, Røen (NOR) |
Vipers Kristiansand won 60–57 on aggregate.

### Final

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Vipers Kristiansand | 51–52 | SCM Craiova | 26–22 | 25–30 |

#### Matches

| 5 May 2018 17:00 | Vipers Kristiansand | 26–22 | SCM Craiova | Aquarama Kristiansand, Kristiansand Attendance: 2,200 Referees: Kouz, Zhoba (UKR) |
| 5 May 2018 17:00 | Kristiansen 9 | (12–10) | Florianu 9 | Aquarama Kristiansand, Kristiansand Attendance: 2,200 Referees: Kouz, Zhoba (UKR) |
| 5 May 2018 17:00 | 3× 3× | Report | 3× 4× | Aquarama Kristiansand, Kristiansand Attendance: 2,200 Referees: Kouz, Zhoba (UKR) |
| 11 May 2018 18:30 | SCM Craiova | 30–25 | Vipers Kristiansand | Polyvalent Hall, Craiova Attendance: 4,215 Referees: Marić, Masić (SRB) |
| 11 May 2018 18:30 | Țicu 11 | (19–12) | Sulland 10 | Polyvalent Hall, Craiova Attendance: 4,215 Referees: Marić, Masić (SRB) |
| 11 May 2018 18:30 | 3× 3× | Report | 4× 1× | Polyvalent Hall, Craiova Attendance: 4,215 Referees: Marić, Masić (SRB) |
SCM Craiova won 52–51 on aggregate.

## Top goalscorers

    As of 11 May 2018
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Linn Jørum Sulland | Vipers Kristiansand | 78 |
| 2 | Cristina Florianu | SCM Craiova | 69 |
| 3 | Ann Grete Nørgaard Østerballe | Viborg HK | 65 |