Metz still unbeaten, buzzer-beater drama in Croatia; NFH score first win
Final round of the year of the EHF Champions League Women 2024/25 threw off on Saturday with HB Ludwigsburg and Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub securing home wins against Vipers Kristiansand and CS Gloria 2018 BN in their rematches, bouncing back from convincing defeats just a week earlier.
Metz Handball remained the only unbeaten team in the competition after yet another convincing performance against Krim Mercator. Podravka Vegeta were the lucky side as Katarina Pandža beat the buzzer for the third win of the season and leapfrogged Storhamar Elite in the standings.
The energy level was the difference. They beat us all over the court last time. The losers learn more than the winners, and we learned from that game. Last time we did not get any two-minute suspensions, because our energy level was not the same as today. I am happy.
They played with big energy, better than last week. We had medical problems.
We are very happy. I remember when we drew in Storhamar, I was anxious about our level and our chances to improve in the group. Then we started winning game after game and now we’re happy. Some players will play in the international competition, and some will stay here. We have seven points more than Krim, and that’s incredible. It’s unbelievable to be in this position in this group.
The explanation for the defeat is simple: we were too short, and we didn’t capitalize on the chances we created. In the first half, we followed our game plan, attacking the way we wanted and defending aggressively. Then we made some mistakes in our game, missed chances in front of goal, and conceded easy goals. After that, we tried to catch up, but that takes a lot of energy, so we were just too short—or maybe not precise enough in something. But anyway, we did the best we could.
It was a tough game again. Vipers are very good in defence and have good goalkeepers, maybe two of the best in the world. Last week we struggled a lot. Today was not totally opposite, but of course winning more situations one against one. We did not let them score many easy goals. I think we were up against a very good opponent today and we need the points, because we are in a group where we have so many good teams. I think we have five, six teams who can all go to FINAL4. And therefore it was very important for us to win this match. In the end a little bit chaotic but I think it was a very good match.
Congratulations to Ludwigsburg. They were the toughest team today on the court. Our defence was not working today. We scored 29 goals away, which is all good. Our opportunities in attack were lower after Jamina was out. We were fighting, but the key today was that we did not win one-on-one duels and Ludwigsburg did it very well.
