QUARTER-FINALS
Team Esbjerg (DEN) vs FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) 29:24 (17:10)
Team Esbjerg win 55:49 on aggregate
- Esbjerg became only the fifth team with three consecutive appearances at the EHF FINAL4, after Györi Audi ETO KC, Buducnost, HC Vardar and CSM Bucuresti
- the Danish side’s goalkeeper, Anna Opstrup Kristensen, delivered a fantastic first half, with eight saves and a 47 per cent saving efficiency, limiting FTC to only 10 goals, the second lowest number of goals scored in the first half in any match this season by the Hungarian side
- FTC’s penchant for comebacks was once again highlighted in this match, as last season’s runners-up cut the gap to only two goals, 24:22, with 13 minutes to go, but Esbjerg stopped it in its tracks
- this was FTC’s 11th loss this season, the largest number of losses in a single season for the Hungarian side, three more than in any other season in the European premium competition
- Esbjerg are now undefeated in six matches in the quarter-finals of the EHF Champions League Women in the past three seasons, with five wins and a draw, plus a five-match winning streak
Esbjerg’s experience rubs off on this doubleheader
FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria are the master of comebacks in past seasons in the EHF Champions League Women, but this time around Esbjerg were alerted of a potential comeback and stopped the Hungarian side in their tracks, delivering a 3:0 unanswered run to start the match and protect the slender one-goal lead from the first leg.
The experience of players like Henny Reistad, Nora Mørk and Kristine Breistøl weighed a lot in these circumstances, but FTC missed too many shots, failing to produce the goods while their most experienced player, Andrea Lekic, was expertly stopped by Esbjerg’s defence, which stole the show in the first half. The second part saw FTC’s penchant for comebacks, but the closest they could get was to two goals, with Esbjerg ending the match with a 5:2 run.
The Hungarian side, which will undergo a serious makeover this summer with plenty of fresh faces coming in, will lament this roller-coaster season, failing to capitalise on the high of last season’s performance when they were runners-up. With 11 losses in 18 matches, FTC need more from their key players next season after falling short once again at the last hurdle.
We are proud and happy with the result and how we managed to handle these two matches. But what makes us even prouder is doing it against a team like FTC. Three-time cup winners in Hungary and are on their way to win the league too, so it is an amazing team, and that makes us so proud.
In the second half, it was a completely different phase of the game. We are much stronger and more aggressive in defence. We poured our heart on the court and showed a good fight because we did not have anything to lose at that point, so we tried to create a new miracle and make Esbjerg fear a bit.
