MKB Veszprem took the initiative in the Cup Winners' Cup final after beating Rhein-Neckar Lowen 37-32 in the first leg.

The Hungarian side, coached by Aleksandar Djorovic, made the most of their home advantage to take a five-goal lead into the second leg, to be held in Germany on May 10th.

Lowen, making their first ever major European final appearance, pushed the 1997 runners-up all the way, and went into half-time on level terms with the score at 20-20.

However, MKB made the home advantage provided by their 2,200 fans count after the break by pulling away to open up the five-point gap.

Lowen will go into the second leg as second favourites against MKB, who have reached at least the quarter-finals of the Champions League in each of the past five seasons.

Eurosport