Defeat to Vardar 1961 last time out had dented Kristianstad's campaign, but a win for the Macedonians over Sesvete, coupled with a victory over pointless Toulouse, would get the Swedish side back on track.
But things didn't off to the best of starts for the hosts, who regularly found themselves a goal or two behind early on, and did not take their first lead in the match until 20 minutes gone, when Elliot Stenmalm put them 11-10 up.
That would not be the end of the French visitors, however, who continued to match their opponents, and equalised with the final goal of the first half, as Nemanja Ilic made it 15-15, and then retook the lead in the opening exchanges of the second half, courtesy of Goncalo Martins Vieira.
But a four-goal run for Kristianstad finally opened up a real lead, which they continued to gradually extend, and when Albin Selin made it a six-goal game with 10 minutes to go, the hosts had all but sealed the points.
Selin scored the final goal of the game, ensuring he finished as outright top scorer with eight goals and Kristianstad ran out 34-26 victors.
A huge 38-24 win for Vardar over Sesvete keeps the former EHF Champions League winners a point ahead of Kristianstad atop the group, but crucially means a draw for the Swedish club over Sesvete will be plenty to reach the next phase of the competition.
After a pair of draws to begin their campaign, Savehof looked to be down and out after losses in their following two outings, but they gave themselves real hope by finally getting a win on the board, beating Presov of Slovakia, 33-28.
Winless Presov were a goal to the good at half-time, but a dominant second-half display in Partille, spearheaded by the 11 goals of experienced right-back Magnus Persson, gave Savehof a convincing win in the end.
They still needed a favour from group leaders Hannover-Burgdorf in the late game, as a win for Fredericia in their clash would see the Danish side progress alongside the German club.
Sadly for the Swedish side, that's exactly what happened - Fredericia won 34-31 on the road to go three points clear of third-placed Savehof with one match to play.
In Group E, Karlskrona's incredibly unlucky campaign continued, as the already-eliminated side lost 35-34 away at last season's EHF Finals participants, MT Melsungen, who remain top of the group on maximum points.
It's a fifth defeat in five for the Swedish side, but a three-goal loss remains their biggest in the group. Their final chance to get points on the board comes at home to Ferencvaros next week.
Review all tonight's EHF European League action on Flashscore.