FTC stay unbeaten with last-gasp comeback against Esbjerg
After a 60-minute roller-coaster of a game, the Match of the Week between FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria and Team Esbjerg ended in a stalemate, 31:31.
The result is FTC's second draw in the current DELO EHF Champions League season, after their round 1 tie with Dortmund, while Esbjerg take their first away points.
MOTW
FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs Team Esbjerg (DEN) 31:31 (16:16)
- FTC’s right wing, Angela Malestein, and Esbjerg’s left back, Henny Reistad, each scored 10 goals, the top scorers of the game
- Malestein, who nearly doubled her tally of 17 goals scored in the first three games, was named the Player of the Match
- the game had six lead changes; Esbjerg came closest to the win, as they boasted a two-goal lead, 31:29, but failed to score in the last five minutes
- FTC have started the season without a loss in the first four matches for the first time since the 2016/17 season
- although eight of the nine Esbjerg field players scored at least one goal, their lack of depth was on display in the last minutes against a full-strength FTC side
FTC on the right path
FTC become the first team to still be unbeaten after the first four rounds, having made a good start in their aim to qualify for their first-ever DELO EHF FINAL4.
The Hungarian club have shown that they can grab points both home and away and against varied opponents – either when scoring 20 goals, as in round 3 against Rostov-Don, or 31 as in Saturday’s draw against Esbjerg.
Against FTC I always feel that we are playing a chess game, so I am really proud of our team for collecting one point even though we had important missing left handed players. We did 100% of what we have, against a strong team, which has good players and a good trainer.
I really like matches against Esbjerg, each of them is a tough tactical fight. We were not sharp enough, and should have shown a better defence to win this game, but five minutes before the end I would be actually really glad with this draw.
