20240502

All to play for as teams eye ticket to Budapest

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EHF / Adrian Costeiu
02 May 2024, 11:00

There is no room for mistake as only 60 minutes separate the remaining teams in the EHF Champions League Women 2023/24 from a possible berth for the EHF FINAL4 in Budapest. Three of the four first-leg matches ended with away wins, but the decisive second leg still offers all to play for.

The closest to an EHF FINAL4 spot might seem to be Györi Audi ETO KC, who secured a seven-goal win against Vipers Kristiansand last week and now await the reigning champions in Hungary for the Match of the Week on Saturday at 18:00 CEST.

CSM Bucuresti will aim to mount a comeback against Metz Handball after their three-goal home loss, while Odense Håndbold and SG BBM Bietigheim are circling for their maiden EHF FINAL4 berth after the German champions sealed a four-goal win in the first leg. Team Esbjerg took a narrow one-goal win at FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria before hosting last season’s finalists in Denmark in Sunday.

The draw for the EHF FINAL4 Women will take place on Tuesday 7 May at 17:00 CEST and will be streamed live on EHFTV and the Home of Handball YouTube channel.

QUARTER-FINALS, LEG 2

Metz Handball (FRA) vs CSM Bucuresti (ROU) – first leg 27:24
Saturday 4 May, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

  • Metz have lost only five of their last 45 home matches in the EHF Champions League
  • CSM, the 2016 champions, are looking for their first EHF FINAL4 berth since 2018, having lost in the quarter-finals in the past four editions
  • left back Cristina Neagu, the second-best scorer in the history of the competition, needs three goals to hit the 100-goal milestone for a fourth consecutive season
  • Metz goalkeeper Hatadou Sako, who was immense in the first match, has the largest number of saves in the competition this season: 180, for a 36.8 per cent efficiency
  • Metz have made it the EHF FINAL4 twice – in 2018/19 and 2021/22, the first time after eliminating CSM in the quarter-finals

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20240502 CLW QF 2Nd Leg Preview Valentini Quote
I feel that the team is serene and stable, and maybe that's what makes us so strong, that we get on really well, that we're cohesive, and I think that's what makes the difference in matches. I'm also thinking of all the games we've played this season, with so many different scenarios. We were behind against Nantes, and we're back. We were ahead against FTC, and they came back at the end. I'm sure that's going to help us in the games to come.
Chloé Valentini
Left wing, Metz Handball

MOTW: Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) vs Vipers Kristiansand (NOR) – first leg 30:23
Saturday 4 May, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

  • Györ have lost only four matches by eight goals or more in their EHF Champions League history – the margin Vipers need to turn this tie around
  • the Hungarian side has the largest streak for appearances in the EHF FINAL4 – eight in a row – with their last quarter-final exit dating back to 2014/15
  • Vipers right back Anna Vyakhireva is the top scorer of the EHF Champions League this season with 107 goals, one of the three players in triple digits so far
  • Vipers are the team with the largest number of goalkeeper saves in this season: 243, for a 33.3 per cent efficiency throughout the season
  • the Norwegian side could become only the second defending champions not to return to the EHF FINAL4 the following season, after it happened to Györ in 2014/15

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20240502 CLW QF2 Preview Quote Györ
I'm very pleased with the seven-goal win against Vipers. However, this does not change anything, because we are talking about an extremely dangerous team, which is also capable of scoring seven or more goals away from home. We have to be prepared for this. We have to treat this game as if we are starting from zero.
Per Johansson
Head coach, Györi Audi ETO KC
20240502 CLW QF2 Preview Quote Vipers
We have to reset from the first game, and we have to be on the front foot. We don't have a choice, as we have to attack, we have to be smarter, we have to play quicker and create good chances. We can't afford to make the same mistakes as last weekend. Now we have nothing to lose, and we can go to Györ and play with freedom and very little pressure. I hope we can show that we are a much better team than what we showed in the home game.
Marta Tomac
Centre back, Vipers Kristiansand

Odense Håndbold (DEN) vs SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) – first leg 26:30
Sunday 5 May, 14:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

  • neither side has been to the EHF FINAL4 before
  • until the 30:26 loss last week, Odense had won all four matches against Bietigheim, with an average margin of 6.5 goals per match
  • that series included a 42:29 home win when the teams met in Odense during this season’s group phase
  • another win would be Odense’s 40th in the EHF Champions League, only the 20th team in history to reach this milestone
  • despite playing two more matches this season, Bietigheim have scored only 17 goals more than Odense: 504 to 487
  • Bietigheim goalkeeper Gabriela Moreschi has the second largest number of saves this season: 179
  • Bietigheim have played five times against Danish opponents this season: before beating Odense last week, they lost twice to the same opponents in the group phase, and had a win and a draw against Ikast Handbold in the play-offs

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20231111 Gjekstad Quote
We really think that we can win by five goals or more, and are ready to play a better match than we did last Sunday. Lifted by our home crowd, we are looking forward to the match and we will do everything in our power to reach the FINAL4."
Ole Gustav Gjekstad
Head coach, Odense Håndbold

Team Esbjerg (DEN) vs FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) – first leg 26:25
Sunday 5 May, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

  • Team Esbjerg are looking for their third consecutive EHF FINAL4 appearance; no team from Denmark has been to Budapest more than once
  • two of the competition’s top 10 scorers – Nora Mørk (87 goals) and Henny Reistad (86 goals) – are Esbjerg players
  • after losing the first leg at home, FTC are eyeing yet another comeback; they qualified after a home loss against Brest Bretagne Handball in this season’s play-offs, and against Metz Handball in last season’s quarter-finals
  • Esbjerg have won three of the four matches on their home court against FTC in the past, including a 27:23 win in the group phase this season
  • FTC, who conceded their 100th defeat in the EHF Champions League in the first leg, can seal back-to-back appearances in the EHF FINAL4, after they had failed to qualify for their hometown event each year before 2023

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20240502 CLW QF 2Nd Leg Preview Iversen Quote
We talked a lot about how our defence should carry us in the first leg, and I do not think that has changed for this match. Even though we missed many shots and passes in Hungary, we still believe that our defence has to be strong against a team with many players that create their own chances.
Rikke Iversen
Line player, Team Esbjerg

photo © 2024 Marco Wolf

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