Beaten 42-31 by Pick Szeged in their Group D opener, another tough test awaited Kristianstad in the form of Sporting, considered by many to be in the same bracket as Szeged as one of the best teams yet to reach the EHF Final Four in Cologne.
If the Portuguese side are to break their duck this season, they are going the right way about it, as they now have two wins from two following their success over GOG in the opening round.
Kristianstad were hoping that home advantage would stand them in good stead this time, and they got off to a good start when goals from Einar Bragi Adalsteinsson and Isaac Biel Nielsen had them 2-0 up, before two William Hoghielm goals helped them to a 5-2 lead.
Sporting tied the match at 5-5 and 6-6, but it wasn't until Salvador Salvador made it 12-11 in the 16th minute that the visitors had their first lead. It would, in fact, be their only lead of the match, as they stayed one or two goals to the good until a 6-1 run right before half-time gave them real breathing space at the break, 22-16.
Kristianstad were mounting something of a comeback, but as soon as they cut the deficit to three, Sporting replied with two 5-0 runs in a matter of minutes, and a 25-22 lead had become 36-24 and the visitors were out of sight.
The hosts finished with a flourish, scoring five of the last six goals of the game, but they still lost by eight; 37-29. Biel Nielsen led the scoring charts for the home side with seven, which was equalled by Martim Costa, but bettered by Orri Freyr Thorkelsson, who scored eight for Sporting Clube. Aly Mohamed produced 12 saves for the Lisbon side, for a 30% save rate.