Metz stay flawless; Esbjerg and Dortmund celebrate first wins
Sunday's schedule brought more excitement in the EHF Champions League Women 2025/26 round 3, with action unfolding across both groups.
In group A, BV Borussia Dortmund celebrated their first win of the season in a tense clash against DVSC Schaeffler, while Team Esbjerg also broke their winless streak, delivering a far more convincing performance against Storhamar Handball Elite. Gloria Bistrita pushed Metz Handball hard, but ultimately suffered their first defeat, as the French champions extended their winning streak. In group B, Ikast Håndbold held off Krim Otp Group Mercator to maintain their perfect home record.
We started well, but then after 10 or 15 minutes we struggled, especially in attack, we were too hasty and conceded easy goals. Things were much better in the second half. To bring some calm to the attack, I quickly took two timeouts in a row. The defence was more stable, as you can see from the fact that we only conceded nine goals. Goalkeeper Sarah Wachter certainly played a major part in that.
It’s frustrating that we lost, because we had our chances, but we didn’t take them. We had prepared for Borussia’s style of play, but this only showed in parts of the match. We made too many technical mistakes and missed many opportunities, and that simply isn’t acceptable in the Champions League.
Congratulations to Metz for the victory. Our efficiency was not at the level we needed today. Obviously, it’s not a happy moment for us — we lost some important points — but I don’t think the score truly reflects the value of our team. We had opportunities to turn the game around, but we couldn’t break through. Still, we gave it our best.
It was difficult in defence and we made a few mistakes, with some moments where our level dropped — but we managed to overcome them. I’m impressed with my team, it was exactly the type of game we wanted to play. It was not easy against this new Gloria team. Compared to last year, we faced a more competitive and more mobile squad. Gloria have a good team this season, with a good coach.
We had a good intensity in the match. Especially in the second half, where we challegened them a bit more, also when they played with seven players in offence. We made them insecure, but we could also have scored a bit more today.
We had a very good performance against a team in which many of the players can play in the World Championship final in December, and we had a great attitude in everything we did. Team Esbjerg have, in my opinion, the best offence in the entire tournament, and we managed to keep them to 30 goals, so I am pleased with our performance.
In the first half we had a strong defence, and we were ready for their things and we felt in control, but we became too passive in the second half. This means that they came back into the game, we accepted too much from their star players and did not manage to finish the game properly in terms of attack. A game that teased us a little, but we defended our home field.
We fought the last two Champions League matches with spirit and attitude, but today we can leave with the feeling that we can be in if we go with this mentality. Ikast were a good team today, but we can take a lot from this day and have a better starting point for the next match.
