After a six-goal win in France, SG BBM Bietigheim were strong favourites in the EHF European League Women quarter-final tie against ES Besancon Feminin.
At home, the German team confirmed their superiority, winning 30:20, and became the first team to advance to the EHF Finals Women.
QUARTER-FINAL, SECOND LEG
SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) vs ES Besancon Feminin (FRA) 30:20 (12:10)
First leg: 29:23. SG BBM Bietigheim won 59:43 on aggregate
- Besancon fought hard in the first half but only led once in the 23rd minute (8:7)
- after that, Bietigheim enjoyed a 3:0 run, and a string of saves from Melinda Szikora powered them to a two-goal advantage at the break
- a tight battle continued early in the second half, but the home team then used a 6:0 run to take a 22:15 lead in the 44th minute
- 12 players scored at least once for Bietigheim, with Antje Lauenroth and Luisa Schulze netting five times each
- Besancon had just a 43 per cent shot efficiency, and Aleksandra Rosiak finished as the team's top scorer with five goals
Szikora stood like a wall
While no Bietigheim players really stood out in attack in the second leg, goalkeeper Melinda Szikora became the German side's heroine. The 33-year-old Hungarian stopped 15 shots for a 44 per cent save efficiency.
Szikora's saves helped the German team extend their perfect record in the current competition. Starting from qualification round 3, they have claimed 10 straight wins, and now they need two more victories to claim the title.
We are happy to reach the last of the EHF European League Women. Today, we had a good atmosphere in the MHP Arena. Now we are going for the title in the next matches.
After the match last week we knew that this match would be very difficult for us. We played good in the first half, but didn't have the energy for the second half. I am proud of my players for what they achieved this season.
