In their first EHF Cup match of the season, Croatian team Nexe secured a victory against SL Benfica. Hrvoje Horvat's squad proved to have serious intentions and opened the competition in the best way possible - with a 30:26 (18:12) win in the first leg of the 3rd qualification round.

It was a tight action in the first minutes as both teams opened the match confidently. Soon after, Buvinic and Jelinic scored back to back goals and secured 2 goals advantage for the home team. Nexe's play kept getting better just like the gap between the teams kept getting bigger. At one point, Nexe were 6 goals up (10:4). Squad from Nasice were holding onto their advantage in the second half and Benfica did not manage to find the right tactics to make a comeback. 

Ivan Vida with 6 goals and Marin Jelinic with 5 goals were the best scorers in the winning team. On the other side, Petar Djordjic stood out the most in the guest team with 7 goals. 

Their next clash is scheduled for 23rd of November, when Nexe will travel to Portugal as a part of the second leg of this round.