Esbjerg stop Dortmund’s comeback to earn fifth win
Team Esbjerg might not have looked contenders at the start of the DELO EHF Champions League 2021/22 season, but the Danish side are holding their ground in group A.
On Sunday afternoon in Dortmund, Esbjerg registered their fifth win in seven games, 32:29, against BV Borussia 09 Dortmund.
GROUP A
BV Borussia 09 Dortmund (GER) vs Team Esbjerg (DEN) 29:32 (14:20)
- Esbjerg had a flawless first half, scoring 20 times in the first 30 minutes in the DELO EHF Champions League for only the second time in their history
- but Dortmund had an amazing start to the second half, with a 7:0 run that turned the game on its head handing the German champions the lead, 21:20
- Norwegian line player Vilde Mortensen Ingstad nearly quadrupled her tally for this season, scoring eight times, after registering three goals in the first six matches
- with only one loss in seven games, Esbjerg have made their best start in the history of the competition
- after a strong start, Dortmund are now starting to falter, having lost three of their last four games
Esbjerg’s versatility pays dividends
Esbjerg have won plenty of games with their defence this season, but they proved that they can secure crucial wins via their attack against Dortmund.
They might have not relied on the whole roster, but as Henny Ella Reistad and Mette Tranborg are slowly being reinserted into the team, they look menacing and are now second in the standings, just behind leaders FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria.
We knew that Dortmund is a team that gives everything – no matter what happens. In the game, we had some struggles with their defence, so I am very happy with the two points.
We came back after the break and showed our quality with fast breaks and different defence systems. My team tried everything. We have seven points after the first round in the group stage – no German team has achieved that until now, so we are very proud.
