QUARTER-FINALS, SECOND LEG
Team Esbjerg (DEN) vs CSM Bucuresti (ROU) 26:22 (14:12)
Team Esbjerg win 55:52 on aggregate
- CSM seemed to have a good boost at the start of the game and at their 8:6 lead had more than one chance to make an even wider break, but failed in that attempt
- Esbjerg had a struggle between minute 10 and minute 18, not being able to score from open play, but the Danish side turned the tide by half-time backed by Anna Kristensen's saves
- goalkeeper Evelina Eriksson took the spotlight with a 45 per cent save efficiency in the span of 20 minutes and helped CSM bounce back — Crina Pintea scored her sixth for an 18:17 lead in the 40th minute
- Esbjerg managed to grab the lead back, but only by the narrowest margins, and CSM managed to equalise with just five minutes until the buzzer, but the finish went Esbjerg's side with four straight goals to clinch a win
- with six goals, Henny Reistad was Esbjerg's top scorer while Michala Møller netted five, including a crucial penalty in the closing moments of the game; Crina Pintea netted six for CSM
- this was the last match for Cristina Neagu in the EHF Champions League — the Romanian international bids farewell to Europe's top-flight as the competition's top scorer, setting her tally at 1,232 goals after netting four times against Esbjerg
Esbjerg break CSM's dream — again
Team Esbjerg have done it again. The Danish side secured their fourth consecutive appearance at the EHF FINAL4 and crushed CSM's big dreams. The Romanian club were eyeing the final weekend spot since their last appearance in 2018, but they have always been stopped in the quarter-finals. Even more, they were eliminated by Team Esbjerg three out of the last four times, as the Danish side seemed to be an unsolvable puzzle for them.
Even though Esbjerg did not look as efficient as in the rest of the season, on Sunday they stepped up in the crucial moments of the game. Tomas Axnér pulled a 5-1 defence to break CSM's flow with Sanna Solberg in front, as Henny Reistad showed her powerful back court shot and CSM didn't have a solution nor luck in the last five minutes. CSM's coach Helle Thomsen, who is taking over the Danish national team, was denied an important breakthrough by her future players and had to accept defeat, just like Cristina Neagu, who maybe didn't have the end she was hoping for.
I am thrilled about the win. It was with a very small margin, but today we had the luck on our side and we also had a strong defence. We only conceded 22 goals, so I am proud of the team.
It was a game with few goals and we had so many shots on the post. It is also due to their defence and goalkeeper, of course. We put up a good fight and did what we could do, but we just did not have the luck on our side.
