Team Esbjerg take option for EHF FINAL4

QUARTER FINALS, FIRST LEG
Team Esbjerg (DEN) vs CSM Bucuresti (ROU) 32:28 (17:13)

• like last season, when Esbjerg eliminated CSM Bucuresti in the semi-finals, the Danish side took a win in the first leg, with the game turning thanks to an unanswered 3:0 run between the 12^th and the 17^th minutes
• former CSM right back, Nora Mørk was Esbjerg’s top scorer in the game, putting eight goals past her former side, while CSM’s backs, Emily Arntzen and Cristina Neagu combined for 17 goals
• star left back, Cristina Neagu needed only six minutes to become the second-best scorer in EHF Champions League Women history with her second goal in the game; CSM’s captain leapfroged former Györ centre back, Anita Görbicz, who had a 1016-goal tally
• this season, Team Esbjerg have not lost by more than two goals with all of their three losses coming by either one or two goals, a result which would see the Danish side sail through to the EHF FINAL4 in Budapest
• CSM have a mountain to climb to deliver their first EHF FINAL4 berth since the 2017/18 season, in the second leg which is already sold out in Bucharest, where the Romanian side is undefeated this season

CSM fail to get going at crucial moment

CSM’s four-year drought for a place in the EHF FINAL4 in Budapest might be extended for one more season, after a disappointing outing in the first leg of the quarter-final against Team Esbjerg.  The Esbjerg - CSM quarterfinal was seen as one of the most balanced, if not the most balanced doubleheaders in this phase of the competition.

Esbjerg led by as many six goals, as CSM faced a stiff challenge on both sides of the ball.  Their attack produced a meagre 43% efficiency, while their defence conceded the largest number of goals this season.

Credit goes to Esbjerg, which devised an excellent plan and dictated the tempo, playing to their strengths.  They now have edged closer to eliminating CSM in the quarter-finals for the second season in a row, but a fiery second leg is still to be played next Sunday in Bucharest. Thanks to Laura Glauser’s saves, as she stopped seven shots for a 43.7% efficiency, CSM cut the gap and are still in the race.