Danish delight as Odense and Esbjerg seal quarter-final spots

Both Danish sides – Odense Håndbold and Team Esbjerg – made it to the quarter-finals. CS Rapid Bucuresti were eliminated after a topsy-turvy season, which saw them alternating excellent results with disappointing outings.

• following the conclusion of the group phase, Odense and Esbjerg were the last teams to make it directly to the quarter-finals, after their clear wins against CSM Bucuresti (29:25) and Rapid (33:24) respectively
• the play-offs are now set: Brest Bretagne Handball face FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, CSM will meet Krim Mercator Ljubljana, DVSC Schaeffler face reigning champions Vipers Kristiansand, and Ikast Handbold play against SG BBM Bietigheim
• left back Henny Reistad had one of her best outings this season, providing eight goals for Esbjerg in their do-or-die clash with Rapid
• Esbjerg made the quarter-finals for the fourth time in the last five seasons, leapfrogging Ikast. They finished second behind Metz, with the French side holding the tie-breaker
• Metz line player Sarah Bouktit is the top scorer of the Champions League after the group phase with 89 goals, one more than Ikast’s Markéta Jerábková and three more than Vipers’ Anna Vyakhireva

GROUP A

MOTW: Odense Håndbold (DEN) vs CSM Bucuresti (ROU) 29:25 (16:11)

Odense’s 29:25 win in the Match of the Week against CSM Bucuresti means they made it into the quarter-finals for the third time, and finished in the top two places in the group phase for the first time in history. With Cristina Neagu far from 100 per cent, due to another injury, the Romanian side had a disappointing 53 per cent shooting efficiency and once again looked inconsistent. Odense took the chance with both hands for their 10th win of the season. After the fifth loss in 14 matches, CSM dropped to fourth in the group standings, as their head-to-head record against Brest, who also had 17 points, saw the French side grab third place. CSM will meet Krim Mercator Ljubljana in the play-offs.

IK Sävehof (SWE) vs DVSC Schaeffler (HUN) 27:36 (14:18)

Sävehof conceded their 14th loss in this season and tied the all-time record for the number of consecutive losses in the EHF Champions League Women, 18, set by Kastamonu two seasons ago. The Swedish side were once again dominated by a sturdy DVSC, who are one of the surprises of the season, with seven wins in 14 matches, enough to seal fifth spot in the final standings. With FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria also making it through to the play-offs, Hungary has three teams still standing.

GROUP B

CS Rapid Bucuresti (ROU) vs Team Esbjerg (DEN) 24:33 (10:14)

Rapid could not count on the support of all of their fans, as they played in Mioveni, some 120 kilometres away from Bucharest, but the packed arena tried to help as much as possible to get the Romanian side over the line. A win would have meant a play-offs spot for Rapid, but the attack failed to rise to the occasion. Esbjerg delivered a flawless defensive performance, to secure their 11th win in 14 matches and, subsequently, a quarter-final berth, as they finished second in the group standings. Rapid were limited to a 34 per cent attacking efficiency and Henny Reistad scored eight goals, helping Esbjerg avenge last season’s loss on Rapid’s court. The Romanian loss means Rapid are eliminated and FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria sealed the last play-off spot in group B.

Main photo © Sabin Malisevschi