Historic first win for Fredericia; first defeat for Sporting
Two series in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2024/25 came to an end on Wednesday night in the opening games of round 6: Sporting CP lost their first group match, at Bucharest, and European cup debutants Fredericia took their very first international victory, against Orlen Wisla Plock.
In the late matches, Aalborg took a dominant away victory at Kielce, while Nantes had a tough nut to crack until the win against Zagreb was secured.
They fought hard and challenged us from the first whistle, and we knew we’d have to be at our best to come out on top. For me, this win feels extra special because it’s our first victory in the Champions League. As a goalkeeper, it’s a proud moment to help the team secure such an important result. The defence worked well in front of me, and we managed to stay focused when it mattered most. Wisła Płock made us work for it, and I have a lot of respect for how they played today. This win is a big step for us, and we’ll use it to keep building momentum in the tournament.
They played with great intensity and were simply the better team today, which is reflected in the result. As a goalkeeper, it’s always frustrating when you can’t do enough to secure the win. I think we had some good moments and fought hard, but there were also times where we could have done better — myself included. Now it’s about learning from this game. We’ll go back, work hard, and come back stronger next time. I take my share of the responsibility and am ready to improve.
Our supporters are loyal and we feel like we can score a hundred goals with them behind us.
We knew we had to stop their fast attacks. The rotations were the way they should be, with [Vladimir] Cupara saving aș well. It is very hard to beat us at home. I am so proud of the team. We have to continue improving — winners improve all the time.
I see that the team has the level to play, at home, against anyone. We strive to be amongst the elites of Europe, but right now we can just see our potențial. There is still some way to go. Consistency is key.
We missed some shots în the first half too, but at least we had some type of control. First 10 minutes of the second half, we lost our composure, they scored a lot, and distanced themselves. It is always fun to come to these kinds of arenas, where fans create an amazing atmosphere — it pumps you up. There is a big difference between home and away games, clearly, but still, great crowd.
We expected a tough game and it was. We fought a lot and we were much better in defence in the second half. Every game we need to adapt our defence. Last week it was Scandinavian style with Kolstad; tonight Balkan style — really athletic.
Tough game. We played with a lot of energy but it wasn’t enough tonight. Sport is that. Our opponent was just better tonight.
We are very proud about the two points and how we played today and got those points. Thank you for a really tough match, which we expected. Everybody knows what happens in this arena, when fans are here and the hosts play on the top level. We started the match really well. We had good feelings after 15 minutes, so we could control a little bit Kielce’s attack. The goalkeepers played really well and helped us to have this four-, five-goal advantage. Therefore, I am really happy to have these two points, but we must show respect and work harder. This is the way I would like to show my team.
We did not play the same level as our opponents in attack and defence as well. We cannot lose matches at home so we need to think how fix our problems and how take two points in the next game.
