Esbjerg too strong for Bistrita; CSM and FTC also win at home

Esbjerg too strong for Bistrita; CSM and FTC also win at home

EHF / Sergey Nikolaev
18 January 2026, 18:15

Round 10 of the EHF Champions League Women ended with three Sunday encounters. In the Match of the Week in Group A, Team Esbjerg defeated Gloria Bistrița and leapfrogged them in the table, climbing to third place. In Group B, CSM București and FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria also won on home court.

  • a brilliant performance by Katharina Filter, who made 19 saves for a 40 per cent save rate, lifted Esbjerg to a 32:28 win against Bistrița

  • Bistrița’s goalkeeper Renata de Arruda also did a good job, but her 15 saves did not help her team avoid their second consecutive defeat

  • in contrast, another Romanian team, CSM, claimed their second straight win under new coach Bojana Popović, beating Krim OTP Group Mercator 26:20

  • FTC took the biggest victory of the day, defeating HC Podravka by eight goals, 31:23

  • despite Lucija Bešen’s 20 saves, the Croatian team suffered their seventh straight defeat in the competition.

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GROUP A
 
MOTW: Team Esbjerg (DEN) vs Gloria Bistrita (ROU) 32:28 (17:14)

H2H: 1-0-1
Top scorers: Nora Mørk 8/12 (Team Esbjerg), Lorena Ostase 7/10 (Gloria Bistrita)

Some early impact by Lorena Ostase helped Bistrița to a 3:1 lead, but Nora Mørk’s goals lifted Esbjerg to a 3:0 run, which put them in front. However, the Romanian team regained the initiative and, spurred by Renata de Arruda’s saves, kept a slight advantage for a long time. But Esbjerg’s goalkeeper Katharina Filter also did well, and the Danish team enjoyed a 6:2 surge late in the first half, jumping to a three-goal lead.

After the restart, Zoë Sprengers stepped up, and her four goals in seven minutes extended the gap to 22:17. While Esbjerg gained momentum, Bistrița refused to give up and cut the deficit to just two goals on several occasions, the last time at 27:25 with nine minutes to go. But Henny Reistad, who had missed a number of chances throughout the game, scored three goals in the remaining minutes, and further saves from Filter were another key factor in Esbjerg’s victory.

 

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Screenshot 2026 01 18 At 19.01.45
We have had a great atmosphere and a solid team spirit up to this game, and even during it. The defence showed a lot of power, and of course it also helped that we had a fantastic goalkeeper today.
Mia Emmenegger
Right wing, Team Esbjerg
Screenshot 2026 01 18 At 19.00.54
We struggled a bit today. We missed many shots, which made us insecure, and we did not play with the pace we know we can. In the end, we were still close, but we did not use the space well enough and gave Team Esbjerg too many chances.
Larissa Nüsser
Centre back, Gloria Bistrita
GROUP B
 
H2H: 12-1-3
Top scorers: Djurdjina Jaukovic 6/7 (CSM Bucuresti), Elizabeth Omoregie 6/11 (CSM Bucuresti), Ana Abina 4/10 (Krim OTP Group Mercaror), Tamara Horacek 4/10 (Krim OTP Group Mercator)

In the reverse fixture, Krim had beaten CSM in Ljubljana, 31:27, but on home court the Romanian side enjoyed a confident revenge. The match was very tight from the beginning — the visitors opened a 2:0 lead, but CSM responded with four consecutive goals before Krim pulled in front again at 5:4. Both teams struggled somewhat in attack in the first half, making a number of mistakes, but the hosts looked better just before the break, which resulted in a three-goal advantage.

Đurđina Jauković and Elizabeth Omoregie led by example in CSM’s attack, and their goals helped the Romanian side further extend the gap to 13:9 early in the second half. Krim lacked efficiency in attack, and even Tamara Horacek, who had done well early in the match, missed several chances. Some saves by Maja Vojnović kept the visitors in the game, but CSM led by six goals (20:14) with 10 minutes to go and maintained that advantage until the final whistle.


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Screenshot 2026 01 18 At 18.33.18
We knew it was going to be a 60-minute fight, and we had to keep pushing. I feel that every time we made a mistake, they punished us, but it feels really good to win this game here at home and give something back to the fans.
Anne Mette Hansen
Left back, CSM Bucuresti
Screenshot 2026 01 18 At 18.32.21
Thank you for the warm welcome in Bucharest! We had a strong start, just as we were hoping for. We knew our opponents would come at us with full power, and we prepared for that, but toward the end our attack was not precise enough and we couldn’t score anymore. If you don’t score goals, especially against a team with that level of physicality, it shows on the scoreboard.
Žiga Novak
Head coach, Krim Otp Group Mercator
H2H: 13-1-0
Top scorers: Petra Simon 7/9 (FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria), Sara Senvald 7/8 (HC Podravka)


FTC earned their 140th win at the continental top flight in style, as they were dominant for most of the game. The home team led 5:3 seven minutes into the match, and while Podravka then enjoyed a good spell and led twice, 7:6 and 8:7, the Hungarian side hit back with a 4:0 run to pull ahead. A number of missed chances and saves from Lucija Bešen kept the visitors in the fight, and the rivals were separated by just two goals after 30 minutes.

However, Petra Simon’s three consecutive goals soon after the restart handed FTC an 18:14 lead, and the hosts continued to push ahead. Between the 40th and 49th minutes, the Hungarian side did not concede a single goal, as Kinga Janurik impressed in goal, further extending their lead to 24:17 before cruising to an eight-goal win.

 

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Screenshot 2026 01 18 At 18.53.23
We could say a lot about this game, but I think we can be proud even though we didn’t play our best match. To still win by eight goals against a team like Podravka is a good thing. We missed too many shots, but we created the chances. So, even if it wasn’t our best game, we stayed calm, fought hard, and won the game comfortably in the end.
Antje Angela Malestein
Right wing, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria
Screenshot 2026 01 18 At 18.54.02
First of all, I would like to congratulate Ferencváros on the win. Based on my team’s spirit and energy, the difference was that big, and that was the reason for the result. We have many injured players, which was reflected in the final score and was also visible in the crunch time of the game, in the most important moments.
Ivica Obrvan
Head coach, HC Podravka
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