This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page After losing their first game this season last weekend in Metz (26:27) The first leg between the two teams saw Rostov snatch a one-goal victory in Germany but today’s match was a clash between two sides at either ends of the spectrum with Rostov leading the group before round 11 while Bietigheim were last GROUP ARostov-Don (RUS) vs SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) 27:21 (15:9)                                                  Viktoriia Kalinina’s five saves in the first half do not tell how dominant Rostov were defensively Bietigheim’s backcourt struggled to find any solutions in the first 30 minutes with only Xenia Smits reaching the net from long distance The Russian side pulled out its best defensive performance this season in the DELO EHF Champions League HANDBALL THROUGH MY EYES: The EHF Champions League star speaks about her iconic one-on-one skills and her mindset on the court DRAW: Recent champions meet and potential first-time winners clash in hotly-anticipated semi-finals after TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 semi-final… DRAW: The four sides who made it through the qualification tournaments now know who they will face in Cologne QUARTER-FINAL REVIEW: A 30:29 victory for Szeged was not enough to book their first ticket to Cologne a single goal separated the 2023 title winners and Veszprém QUARTER-FINAL REVIEW: 2018 finalists end Sporting CP’s Machineseeker EHF Champions League journey with second quarter-final win QUARTER-FINAL REVIEW: After a nine-goal win in the first leg HANDBALL THROUGH MY EYES: Versatile One Veszprém back Nedim Remili reveals why he loves handball OFFICIAL STATEMENT: Court of Handball issues further decision regarding withdrawal of Vipers from EHF Champions League NEWS: Györi Audi ETO KC will meet Team Esbjerg and Metz Handball will play against Odense Håndbold on 31 May in the MVM Dome in Budapest MT Melsungen beat SG BBM Bietigheim for the second place in the German men's handball Bundesliga with a two-game winning streak Meljungen defeated Vitiheim 32-28 in the 25th round of the DAIKIN men's handball Bundesliga at EgeTrans Arena in Vitiheim Meljungen scored 20 wins and 5 losses (40 points) to tie for first place in the league with a goal difference Meljungen led the attack with seven goals by Nikolaj Enderleit and goalkeeper Daniel Rebmann made 10 saves but it was not enough to prevent his team's defeat The early part of the game was led by Wittichheim Till Hermann scored around the 11th minute to take an 8-5 lead but MT Meljungen maintained the line under Roberto García Parrondo's direction to strengthen his defense succeeded in turning around 11-10 in the 20th minute with Ian Barruffets' 7-meter shot success followed by Nikolai Enderreich's consecutive points to run to 15-13 The first half ended with a 15-14 lead from Meljungen Rosério Moreas scored three straight goals in the 38th minute to widen the gap to 19-16 and continued Simic's decisive save Tom Wolf of Wittichheim tied the game at 21-21 but Meljungen brought the flow back with Valencia's consecutive goals Balenciaga scored 25-21 to secure a four-goal lead and Jonathan Svensson's winning goal sealed the match scored his first goal of the season to end the game 32-28 ※ This service is provided by machine translation tool The business end of the EHF Champions League Women the premium competition for clubs in Europe will take place in Budapest on 1 and 2 June with four teams vying for the trophy in the EHF FINAL4 It is the 10th anniversary of the EHF FINAL4 while the semi-finals are played on Saturday and undoubtedly the match between the Hungarian powerhouse Győri Audi ETO KC and Team Esbjerg looks to be the headline a crucial battle between two top sides in European handball While Győr are the team with the largest number of appearances in the EHF FINAL4 Esbjerg became the first Danish side to reach the EHF FINAL4 three times in a row the Danish champions have never won a match so far in Budapest Jesper Jensen’s side is set to cause issues for Győr the 2023 IHF Female World Player of the Year and the MVP of the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship is the current all-time top scorer in the EHF FINAL4 currently the Netherlands’ women’s national team coach due to the Hungarian side’s unsatisfactory results this season despite Győr starting the EHF Champions League Women with a 11-match winning streak This will also be a special EHF FINAL4 for Stine Bredal Oftedal who will play her last matches at club level before featuring at the Olympic Games for Norway and retiring from her playing career after Paris 2024 Jesper Jensen will solely focus on the Denmark women’s national team which he helped clinch two bronze medals in the last two editions of the IHF Women’s World Championship SG BBM Bietigheim will become the 14th team to play in the EHF FINAL4 after delivering some incredible performances throughout the season to make in the business end of the European premium competition Bietigheim have lost seven matches in the preliminary round but went on and eliminated two Danish sides with the same scoreline – 60:58 on aggregate against Ikast Handball in the play-offs and against Odense Handbold in the quarter-finals who has already won the EHF Champions League Women twice with Viborg HK in 2009 and 2010 as the French champions are also aiming for their maiden place in the final in the competition Metz have lost only three matches this season while Bietigheim have conceded eight losses one less than the other three participating teams in the EHF FINAL4 combined By continuing to browse ihf.info, you agree to our terms of use , privacy policy and the use of cookies. For more information, please review our cookie policy SG BBM Bietigheim became the first German team in history, as well as the first team to lose eight matches in a season to qualify for the final of the EHF Champions League Women after a dramatic 36:29 win over Metz Handball Jakob Vestergaard’s team will face Györi Audi ETO KC in the last act of the EHF FINAL4 aim to secure their maiden trophy and their second European one after clinching the EHF European League Women in the 2021/22 season SEMI-FINALMetz Handball (FRA) vs SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) 29:36 (15:14) Dark horses create huge shockwaves once again Bietigheim are the true dark horses of this season and the worst thing any opponent can do is leave them some breathing space And that was exactly the trap in which Metz fell into with the lead changing hands five times in the first 30 minutes the French side had the slightest of leads at the break and the possession to start the second half And with goalkeeper Gabriela Moreschi constantly frustrating their opponents in one-on-one situations Bietigheim started to get more and more confidence with an 8:2 Bietigheim run which decided the match As the gap floated around the five-six goal mark Karolina Kudlacz-Gloc and Kaba Gassama combined for 20 goals to produce one of the biggest shocks in the history of the EHF FINAL4 It was a fantastic performance for Bietigheim which nobody would have predicted before the start of the season In his first season as Bietigheim head coach Jakob Vestergaard qualified for his third EHF Champoins League final after winning the previous two with Viborg HK against Györ and Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea You said no to using cookies or similar tools that help improve your experience. To see this content, you would need to update your Privacy Preferences VfL Gummersbach beat SG BBM Bietigheim to record three consecutive wins intensifying the Bundesliga mid-range battle Gummersbach beat Vittichheim 37-27 in the 22nd round of the DAIKIN men's handball Bundesliga in the 2024/25 season at Schwalbe-Arena in Gummersbach trailing seventh-place Rhein-Neckar Löwen by one point Gummersbach led the attack with six goals each by Elidi Snaer Vidarsson and Miro Schlouff and five goals each by Milos Vujovic and Julian Köster with six saves and five by goalkeeper Bertram Obling Gonzalo Perez Arce led the attack with 13 goals and Nikola Vlahovic scored three but the two goalkeepers made only three saves Gummersbach was focused and energetic from the beginning of the game They showed off their teamwork from the beginning and helped each other The crowd went wild when Gummersbach turned the tables 3-1 and a minute later goalkeeper Bertram Obling blocked a seven-metre shot Gummersbach scored for the eighth time in a row and went on an 8-1 run but Gummersbach nevertheless dominated the game Kiesler's first appearance in the 15th minute came back in nine months and although the team slowed down a little they still led the game with a strong finish Wichheim trailed 10-6 with four goals in a row but Gummersbach scored back-to-back goals to widen the gap to 14-7 Gummersbach finished the first half with a 21-13 advantage Gummersbach again dominated the game quickly scoring in the 31st minute by Kristjan Horčen to open the lead to 22-13 Gummersbach later replaced almost all players and relaxed the game scoring 24-15 in the 35th minute with Miro Schlurov's score and 27-18 in the 43rd minute with Giorgi Tskhovrebadze's score Wittichheim had trailed by 29-23 and six goals reaching 35-25 and 10 goals in the 53rd minute Ks — Germany and Kansas City are separated by 4,788 miles but one program between two schools in Germany and Kansas City is helping bridge that gap together Fifty-three band students from Germany are visiting Kansas City this week as part of an exchange program with Shawnee Mission South High School students have traveled to each other’s schools to perform and learn about their counterparts Germany) and Overland Park became sister cities That grew out of the music exchange,” said band director but they come to Kansas City and I asked them why the students have been touring across the metro this week experiencing Kansas City sports the German and American students will be working together to put on a concert for the public “I don’t think you can really quantify the value of something like this,” said Shawnee Mission South senior “It gives you all this experience and broadens your world view in a way that will impact you for the rest of your life.” Despite the language and cultural barriers the students say music has been an amazing avenue to connect “If we play something and they know the song that’s great I think,” said German exchange student “Especially when you play the same instrument Kachler is back in the program for the second time since visiting the city four years ago “Some of us actually are staying with the same host family we stayed four years ago so it’s great to see the transformation and the change that happens over four years,” said Kachler “I’m still in contact with some of the people that I met four years ago here.” the German students will be head to Kansas City International airport and fly back home but 53 American students from Shawnee Mission South will also get their chance at a trip of a lifetime to head to Germany and see what life is like there “The difference between a German teenager and an American teenager is like four percent but the four percent is what makes for great conversation,” said Adams Report a typo The group phase of the EHF Champions League Women concluded on 12 February after 112 matches were played with four teams advancing directly to the quarter-finals while eight others made the play-offs in a season full of twists and turns produced an entertaining group phase over the last six months with plenty of surprises on the way leaving fans breathless until the final seconds of the last round reigning champions Vipers Kristiansand secured first place in the group but only managed to clinch the position after the last round as CSM Bucuresti dropped their rhythm unexpectedly to win only one of the last four possible points The Romanian powerhouse took the lead after securing a 27:24 home win against Vipers After a 30:30 draw against Brest Bretagne Handball in the penultimate round CSM lost their last match against Krim (26:28) enabling the reigning champions to leapfrog them who can become only the second team in history to win three titles in a row despite boasting their best-ever start in the European premium competition now facing a more difficult route to their first EHF FINAL4 berth since the 2018/19 season Krim Mercator Ljubljana jumped from the seventh place to the fifth place in the final standings thanks to their head-to-head record against Brest and SG BBM Bietigheim with the German side missing out on qualifying for the knockout phase of the competition who had a 64-match unbeaten streak in all competitions started the group phase of the EHF Champions League Women with a five-match unbeaten streak but failed to win any of their next eight matches Despite tying the record for the number of goals scored in a single match in their last match against DHK Baník Most (47:25) Bietigheim missed out on a play-offs berth due to an inferior goal difference (-4) than Brest (0) in the three-way tie Metz Handball was the team with the best record in the group phase dropping only three points on their way to winning Group B an excellent performance from the French champions who delivered their best-ever start in the European premium competition displaying the second-best defence and conceding only 25.1 goals per match Metz also stopped a seven-year unbeaten streak at home for Györi Audi ETO KC the Hungarian powerhouse also made it to the quarter-finals after a hard-fought 29:28 win against Team Esbjerg in the last round Esbjerg also boast the top scorer of the competition after 14 matches the All-Star left back at the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship two more than CSM’s left back Cristina Neagu Neagu became only the third player in history to hit the 1000-goal milestone in the EHF Champions League Women now boasting a total of 1015 goals in the competition only one goal shy of the previous record set by Anita Görbicz The all-time goal scorer of the competition is now Montenegro’s right wing Jovanka Radičević who also broke the 1000-goal milestone this season and has scored 1056 goals in her career in the European premium competition The quarter-finals will be played over two legs on 18 and 19 March and 25 and 26 March respectively with the winners progressing to the quarter-finals where the best two sides from each group await them The quarter-finals are due to be played on 29 and 30 April and 6 and 7 May as the EHF FINAL4 is hosted again by Budapest in the MVM Dome on 3 and 4 June SG BBM Bietigheim became the first German club in the quarter-finals under the current playing format of the EHF Champions League Women despite a draw in the Match of the Week played in Denmark Two former EHF European League Women winners were fighting hard trading leads and comebacks Even though Ikast Handbold were close to making the reverse fixture a more dramatic one Gabriela Moreschi delivered for Bietigheim and helped her team clinch a 60:58 aggregate victory CSM Bucuresti had solid ground after winning by six in the first leg and made it to the quarter-finals for the eighth time straight following another comfortable 30:24 win in the reverse fixture FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria celebrated their first-ever win in Brest as they overcame a two-goal deficit grabbing a 31:26 win with the help of Angela Malestein SG BBM Bietigheim win 60:58 on aggregateThe decisive duel went German way despite Ikast's comeback and gave Bietigheim a chance to face Odense Håndbold in the quarter-finals The first half was marked by trading leads as both sides made significant goal runs Ikast were the first side to make a three-goal run (5:2) but boosted by Gabriela Moreschi's saves and the opponent's turnovers Bietigheim first levelled and a few minutes later made their 6-0 goal run Irma Schjött did not leave her teammates hanging joining Moreschi on a 40 per cent save efficiency by the end of the first half Ikast managed to reduce the gap to one but a hasty attack in the last moments allowed Bietigheim to get their hands on the biggest lead in the game (18:13).It took some time for Ikast to start their engines again but when they finally found the rhythm they were 6:2 up and came from being down by six to two goals behind The Danish side had two straight chances to narrow it even more but Moreschi was her side's hero once again Her saves helped get the most from fast-paced handball as they reinstalled their two-goal lead through fast breaks Bietigheim slowed down and Trine Mortensen made sure we saw drama in the last two minutes - she scored for 30:30 and Markéta Jerábková set Ikast's first lead since the 12th minute a new set of turnovers came in the way of the quarter-final dream as Bietigheim secured a draw leading them among the top eight teams in the top-flight CSM Bucuresti win 60:48 on aggregateCSM did not let their six-goal lead from the first game come in the way of another good performance as they secured a clone 30:24 win Progressing to the quarter-finals for the eighth time straight earned them a clash with Metz Handball Even though Krim's only lead in the game was at 3:2 they were never down by more than four until the last ten minutes of the game Krim did not falter despite having almost an impossible task ahead of them As the battle of the two all-time CL top scorers continued with Cristina Neagu netting seven and Jovanka Radicevic six entered the last ten minutes two goals in front when the Romanian side spurred a 4:0 run led by Neagu herself and goalkeeper Laura Glauser it was a done deal as Krim were left behind by six in a matter of minutes Radicevic and Itana Grbic were trying to soothe the defeat but failed as Jennifer Gutiérrez secured the match once again ends with 30:24 FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria win 59:56 on aggregateFor the first time FTC won in Brest with the win coming in the most important match FTC thoroughly dominated the first 30 minutes being from two to four goals ahead at all times It all came from a good defence and precise attacks When Katharina Filter took over from Julie Foggea between the posts it looked like Brest were finally getting back on track again they had a blistering start to the second half and cut the deficit to one as Jenny Carlson netted her third in the game it looked like FTC learned their lesson in the first duel and did not allow Brest to take over There was a glimpse of hope for the French side as Valeriia Maslova and Pauletta Foppa continued to pounce but the closest they came in the later stage was 24:27 And it was not easy for them - Angela Malestein on the other side had an outstanding day leading FTC with ten goals and taking the most out of Kinga Janurik's great performance on the goal - after having only three in the first half Her saves were pivotal for the five-goal win which secured FTC a place in the quarter-finals for the second time in a row where they will lock horns with Team Esbjerg In a tough season full of challenges CSM Bucuresti are constantly learning to win in different ways the Romanian side had little trouble disposing of their German counterparts 32:22 SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) vs CSM Bucuresti (ROU) 22:32 (10:14) It was an excellent collective performance from CSM but the Romanian side have to give props to another goalkeeping masterclass from Jelena Grubisic saving 14 shots for an amazing 45.1 per cent efficiency Grubisic was also the difference maker against Metz back in the first round and could be key in CSM sustaining this type of form After failing to protect a four-goal lead after 40 minutes against Rostov last week Bietigheim imploded in the final 15 minutes against Krim to extend their losing run to five games The German club gifted their hosts the game as the Slovenian side deployed an amazing comeback to secure only their second win in the past 13 games in the DELO EHF Champions League GROUP ARK Krim Mercator (SLO) vs SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) 28:26 (12:16) Bietigheim are constantly finding new ways to lose games they were up 22:18 with 20 minutes to go and lost by a goal Bietigheim led for the first 50 minutes and even had a 20:15 lead with 21 minutes to go and the German side will certainly regret these two losses if they fail to proceed to the next phase of the competition SG BBM Bietigheim are – besides Danish side Ikast Handbold – the surprise package of the current EHF Champions League Women season the EHF European League Women winners in 2022 and 2023 respectively top their groups with the optimum of 10 points from five matches When Bietigheim crowned their perfect season with more than 50 wins in a row by winning the EHF Finals in Viborg 2022 Xenia Smits was awarded MVP of the tournament were led then by Jakob Vestergaard – now the head coach at Bietigheim after replacing Markus Gaugisch this summer the four-time German champions have had the best ever start by any German team in the group phase of the EHF Champions League Women They broke their own record from the previous season when they were also unbeaten after five matches and had nine points on their account And they were the only team which beat both eventual finalists Vipers Kristiansand and FTC We know how important every point and even every goal is if you want to proceed from the group phase,” says Smits who just played her 100th international match for Germany in the EHF EURO 2024 qualifier against Ukraine Because after the brilliant start last autumn Bietigheim took only one point from the next nine matches Even a 47:25 win in the last group match was not enough to make it to the play-offs as due to the goal difference Krim were ahead of them This is what Smits means by “every goal counts” “We are on an incredible positive run right now, and we hope that this season we can continue,” says Smits before the MOTW of round 6 against Odense Håndbold (Sunday 29 October last season’s memories resurface once more The 24:31 loss in Odense was Bietigheim’s first defeat – and the turning point of their Champions League season in 2022/23 “We are enjoying the moment and to see that we are on top but as long as we are not sure of being in the next round we have won nothing,” points out the 29-year-old team captain “Having 10 points on our account currently is the result of hard work and we have to continue exactly in this line We are not scared of Odense as opponents despite the two defeats last year One advantage of Bietigheim is that new coach Jakob Vestergaard knows Odense very well as he had coached clubs in the Danish league for a long time “In any match we are perfectly prepared for everything by Jakob so I am sure that against a Danish team the preparation will be the same or even better I am sure we can adapt very well to Odense’s style of playing,” Smits adds And if Bietigheim continue like in the first matches the dream of becoming the first German team at the EHF FINAL4 could come true this time Smits is Bietigheim’s only player who has participated in the EHF FINAL4 in Budapest – in 2019 the Belgium-born left back moved to France and played there for five years “Any step in my career was important for my development which team and which coach can boost my level and development And especially in Metz I could gain a lot of international experience,” she says Since then Smits has become German champion twice German cup winner three times and as the icing on the cake won the European League “Since my arrival in Bietigheim I definitely play a bigger role also in the national team When I was a kid I dreamed of having one international match in my life Smits exchanged their Belgian passport for a German one every international match – with the club or the national team – is something special for me,” Smits says One important reason for the current success in the EHF Champions League Women is that the new coach and the new arrivals fit perfectly and that their integration went quickly and smoothly “It is impressive to see how the new ones and the old ones play together the club did a great job in selecting our new arrivals and our new coach,” Smits thinks Only Smits’ role has changed significantly in the last years: Until shoulder surgery in 2020 but my style of throwing has changed due to my shoulder So I am sure I can help my teams much more standing strong in defence.” That defence will be tested in the Match of the Week with Odense also having had a solid start to the season with three wins so far The tone for the rest of Bietigheim’s season could well be set in Denmark on Sunday FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria produced a flawless comeback in the second half against SG BBM Bietigheim to take a crucial 28:23 win in group A of the EHF Champions League Women which enabled the Hungarian side to clinch a berth in the play-offs GROUP AMOTW: FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) 28:23 (10:12) Unstoppable play from Szandra Szöllosi-Zácsik 🔥@Fradi_HU | #ehfcl | #MOTW pic.twitter.com/U5T2IBTOnc centre back Aniko Cirjenics-Kovacsics returned to the FTC line-up in Europe's premier competition and celebrated the comeback with the Hungarian side's most important win of the season The 28:23 comeback against SG BBM Bietigheim helped FTC seal their play-off berth but the Hungarian side may have to win against Odense in their last match of the group phase to secure fourth place in group A Both Katrin Klujber and Angela Malestein scored seven goals in this game while Bietigheim are definitely in a rut after falling from a prospective quarter-finalist to a side that will fight to save their season in the last round against DHK Banik Most Only two sides – Banik Most and Lokomotiva Zagreb – have worse winless streaks than Bietigheim right now Credit for the photos in this article: Fradi.hu and Micheller Szilvia QUARTER-FINALS PREVIEW: Four close clashes in the EHF Champions League Women quarter-finals will decide EHF FINAL4 participants The stage for the penultimate matches of the EHF European League Women 2021/22 is set following the draw to determine the semi-final pairings on Thursday afternoon in Vienna Viborg will meet Baia Mare and Herning-Ikast will face Bietigheim when the EHF Finals Women get underway on 14 May with the winners progressing to the trophy match on 15 May and the defeated teams to battle for bronze The venue for the second edition of the EHF Finals Women was announced earlier on Thursday with Viborg confirmed as the host city and the matches to be played in Vibocold Arena Viborg HK will therefore play on the home court while another EHF Finals Women participant will not be far from their own base in Herning Herning-Ikast reached the same stage of the EHF European League Women last season right behind the other side that also contested the first EHF Finals Women they will hope for a different outcome against their respective opponents this time around the 2021/22 edition marks a return to the medal round of a European cup competition after a three-season wait following their last semi-final participation in the EHF Cup in 2018/19 The most recent title celebrated by the three-time Champions League winners was the Cup Winners’ Cup back in 2014 German side SG BBM Bietigheim have only reached the semi-final round in a European cup competition once before — in the EHF Cup in 2016/17 FEATURE: Latvian right back to play with Melsungen at Maschinensucher EHF Finals in Hamburg FEATURE: Thüringer HC left back becomes MVP and top scorer of EHF Finals Women after netting 29 times in Graz SUMMARY: Thüringer HC are crowned in Graz as the new EHF European League Women champions following an intense final against Ikast Håndbold FLASH QUOTES: Comments from players and coaches after the EHF Finals Women 2025 final and third place match FINAL REVIEW: THC come from behind to beat Ikast 34:32 at the EHF Finals in Graz THIRD-PLACE MATCH REVIEW: The French side beat their opponents from Germany at the EHF Finals Women FINAL PREVIEW: Ikast Håndbold meet Thüringer HC in final; Blomberg and Dijon play for third place SUMMARY: Ikast Håndbold and Thüringer HC celebrated semi-final wins in Graz as they get ready for the final on Sunday SEMI-FINAL REVIEW: The German side beat Dijon 35:29 in the second semi-final of the EHF Finals Women FLASH QUOTES: Comments from players and coaches after the EHF Finals Women 2025 semi-finals The Bietigheim Steelers have met in an exciting final of the DEB-Oberliga against the Hannover Scorpions and can now call themselves Oberliga champions the Steelers won the decisive seventh match against the Scorpions 2-1 With the Hannover Scorpions and the Bietigheim Steelers The runners-up of the regular season of their respective Oberliga divisions reached the final Both teams performed at a similarly high level in the final series so that four of the first six games were decided in overtime Jordan Knackstedt redeemed the Scorpions in front of their home crowd with his winner in the 74th minute Allan McPherson scored the 67:4 for Hanover in the 3th minute Pascal Aquin scored the winning goal for Mellendorf in the 70th minute Bietigheim showed that they too can win an overtime Alexander Preibisch aimed particularly well and let the Baden-WürttembergHe was celebrating in the 63rd minute – they had thus fended off the Scorpions' first match puck and saved themselves into the seventh game there was no longer a favorite: Bietigheim managed to win twice after 60 minutes – including 6:2 in their first home game – but Hannover shone with comeback qualities and was nerve-wracking enough for three of the four overtime victories The seventh meeting took place in Mellendorf And it took a long time until the first goal was scored Christoph Kiefersauer provided the first Bietigheim celebration Preibisch then scored the second goal for the southern Germans which the Niedersachsen had a quick answer the Steelers successfully defended their own goal so that they can now call themselves Oberliga champions 2024/2025 and can celebrate direct promotion back to the DEL2 a club from the Oberliga Süd won the Oberliga championship Bietigheim's head coach Alexander Dück was still enthusiastic about the exciting final series: "We knew it would be a close series because we had already beaten the Scorpions in the semifinals against the Heilbronner Falken seen And we know from the regular season how difficult it is to win against Heilbronn." Dück didn't only have relaxed moments on the bench in game seven; he cites two phases as examples we were lucky with two shots hitting the crossbar and post but the last two minutes weren't easy either We had just conceded the first goal and then received a penalty And we knew very well how Hanover's players were capable of really pushing hard the Steelers have now celebrated a promotion How important is this success for the location We had great support this season from the Fans and everyone around us and the harmony within the team and the character of the players were unique Alexander Preibisch being our first signing was a particularly important sign He had already played in the DEL with Bietigheim but remained loyal to the team and still believed in our goals even after the second relegation." And the Steelers made these goals a reality on Tuesday evening Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper functioning of the website Statistics Acquire cookies information anonymously This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website Content from video sharing platforms and social media platforms is blocked by default access to these contents no longer requires manual consent the four qualified teams are on the final straight and every ounce of work put into this season will be on the line as the teams head to the MVM Dome in Budapest Shocks and comebacks have occurred multiple times in the previous editions it is difficult to predict what will happen to give a comprehensive overview of the season the power rankings are back for the final time with the smallest of margins separating the four qualified teams Bietigheim were not even considered dark horses at the start of this season after last season's collapse in the final matches of the group phase there was no question about their progression in the knockout phase of the premium European competition but their performances in the business end of the season were absolutely stunning Coached by a Danish coach in his first season in Bietigheim the German champions eliminated Ikast (60:58 on aggregate) in the play-offs and Odense (60:58 on aggregate) in the quarter-finals sealing their maiden EHF FINAL4 berth and becoming the first German team in 29 years to progress to the EHF Champions League Women semi-finals No team qualified for the EHF FINAL4 has lost more matches – eight – than Bietigheim Györi Audi ETO KC and Esbjerg combining for the same number Bietigheim may be able to ride this superb wave and cause issues for Metz in the semi-finals Any team with Nora Mørk and Henny Reistad on the court should be very tough to beat This EHF FINAL4 — their third consecutive one — will be special as coach Jesper Jensen will leave at the end of the season Esbjerg have been dealt a tough hand in the draw facing Györ as they look to break the EHF FINAL4 hoodoo where they have played four matches in the previous two seasons and lost all of them Mørk and Reistad are the top scorers for the team and they will be relied upon to deliver again with Mørk aiming for her seventh title in the premium European competition A win would see Mørk tie the record set by Katrine Lunde last season while 25-year-old Reistad is already the all-time top scorer of the EHF FINAL4 Starting with 11 wins surely made them the big favourites to clinch the title Györ have conceded three losses and drew another match — basically they have only two wins in their last five matches in the premium European competition The Hungarian side also had a coaching change with Per Johansson replacing Ulrik Kirkely Johansson was there for their excellent 30:23 win against Vipers in the first leg of the quarter-finals but the reigning champions delivered Györ their second home loss of the season in the second leg It was the first time in more than 15 years that the Hungarian powerhouse lost two matches at home in a season of the EHF Champions League Györ have the narrative working for them to claim their first title since 2019 however as this summer there will be plenty of players leaving and others signing centre back Stine Bredal Oftedal will end her seven-year stint in the green and white shirt the biggest aggregate win in the quarter-finals and with plenty of firepower from all positions Metz Handball have been the team to beat this season in the EHF Champions League Women and look primed to secure a debut in the final as they will be favoured against Bietigheim The recipe for success was not necessarily difficult but it started with patience in all aspects Coach Emmanuel Mayonnade has been in the position since 2015 and Metz have been arduously building this side adding bits and pieces every year to make it more and more competitive The back line is a display of experience and firepower with players like Kristina Jorgensen and Anne Mette Hansen integrant to the French side’s success Line player Sarah Bouktit is the team’s top scorer while left wing Chloé Valentini has been a strong and steady hand throughout the whole season as well as the experience of previous EHF FINAL4 editions the highlight of the women's club season in Europe Györi Audi ETO KC vs SG BBM Bietigheim 30:24 A post shared by EHF Champions League (@ehfcl) To know more about the event, visit ehfcl.eurohandball.com Hungarian powerhouse Györi Audi ETO KC secured their sixth title in the EHF Champions League Women after clinching two wins in the EHF FINAL4 which took place in Budapest on 1 and 2 June the most decorated team in the history of the competition with some excellent performances against Team Esbjerg in the semi-finals and SG BBM Bietigheim in the big final as Stine Bredal Oftedal was named the MVP of the EHF FINAL4 in the last club match of her career Four teams lined up at the start of the competition the best four teams remaining after a lengthy season which saw 18.500 spectators present at the final Györi Audi ETO KC delivered two excellent performances to clinch their sixth title it was a 24:23 win in the semi-final against Team Esbjerg where the Hungarian side dominated in the second half only to see their lead cut at the end of the match with the 2022 IHF World Female Player of the Year stopping a last-second shot from Esbjerg’s left wing Sanna Solberg-Isaksen favourites Metz Handball lost their footing against SG BBM Bietigheim as the dark horses clinched a fantastic 36:29 win to become the first German side ever to secure a place in the final of the EHF Champions League Women at their first appearance at the EHF FINAL4 surprised the French side with their excellent defence and pacy fast breaks and became the first team to ever reach the final of the European premium competition after previously conceding eight losses on the way to the last act Bietigheim were no match for Györi Audi ETO KC one that they never relinquished until the end the MVP of the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship and right back Ana Gros each scored six goals Györ built an impressive seven-goal lead in the second half on the back of a fantastic performance from Norwegian goalkeeper Silje Solberg-Osthassel which had 16 saves for a 42.1 per cent saving efficiency which featured in the EHF FINAL4 for the ninth time in 10 editions matched the largest ever win in the last act of the competition to secure a 30:24 and their sixth title in the European premium competition with the closest being Hypo Niederösterreich with four titles and Viborg HK before heading to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with Norway centre back Stine Bredal Oftedal was named the MVP of the EHF FINAL4 after scoring three goals in the match against Esbjerg and delivering six assists in the match against Bietigheim “I think I have managed to keep the emotions under wraps in the first match As well in the second one against Bietigheim when it was clear that we were going to win The bronze medal match was won by Team Esbjerg as the Danish side had their best ever finish in the competition also winning their maiden match in the EHF FINAL4 150 Schüler haben an der Realschule im Aurain in Bietigheim ihren Abschluss gemacht. 55 Preise wurden vergeben dass wir nach zwei Jahren Abstinenz wieder hier im Kronensaal sitzen und 150 Abschlusszeugnisse aushändigen dürfen“ sagte Schulleiter Claus Stöckle in seiner Begrüßungsrede bei der Abschlussfeier der Realschule im Aurain im Kronenzentrum Mit einem Gesamtnotendurchschnitt von 2,5 erzielten die Schüler laut Mitteilung der Schule ein sehenswertes Ergebnis Insgesamt 55 Schüler wurden mit einem Preis (Notenschnitt bis 1,9) beziehungsweise einem Lob (Notenschnitt bis 2,4) ausgezeichnet Und auf dieses Ergebnis sei die Schule sehr stolz gerade wegen der erschwerten Bedingungen der letzten zwei Pandemiejahre lobte Stöckle die anwesenden Schüler Das bunte und breitgefächerte Programm der Abschlussfeier wurde von den Schülern gemeinsam mit ihren Klassenlehrern Susanne Moritz Die neue Elternbeiratsvorsitzende Janet Stelse sowie die Schülersprecher Noah-Luca Moses und Antoneta Shala dankten den Eltern und den Lehrkräften sowie allen Schülern der Vorsitzende des Freundeskreises der Realschule die den traumhaften Notendurchschnitt von 1,0 erzielte Darüber hinaus erhielt sie als Jahrgangsbeste der Schule den gespendeten Tracta-Bildungspreis Die Mittlere Reife in der Tasche haben die folgenden Schüler nach oben A fairytale ending for a fairytale career. It was always going to be a special weekend for Stine Oftedal, the centre back who has basically won everything there is to win in handball. And now, after her final two club matches, she has another title in the EHF Champions League Women as well as her first MVP title of the competition I will make some more space in my trophy cabinet,” said a smiling Oftedal after helping Györi Audi ETO KC secure their sixth title in the EHF Champions League Women with a 30:24 win against SG BBM Bietigheim in the last act of the EHF FINAL4 Oftedal has had a star-studded career at Györ since joining the team in 2017 three titles in the EHF Champions League Women and was named the All-star centre back of the European premium competition four times especially as the last dance with Györ was always going to be emotional – in front of a packed MVM Dome which surely wanted the first title since 2019 tears burst out of my eyes,” added Oftedal Queen Oftedal 🇳🇴✨, we will miss you 🥹 @audietokc_gyor #ehffinal4 #ehfcl #CLW pic.twitter.com/BABhAnSMU5 The 32-year-old centre back scored three goals in the first match including some crucial ones when the Hungarian side created their six-goal lead she focused on creating chances for her teammates whose knack for delivering perfect-pitch assists was once again converted into fantastic goals by her teammates It is fantastic to finish this off with a win with a title and the fans were absolutely fantastic it is just a fantastic feeling to end my club career on such a high,” added the centre back Not only did Oftedal clinch her third title in the European premium competition in only seven seasons she was also named the MVP of the EHF FINAL4 a memory which she will probably not forget especially as this individual trophy was missing from her cabinet “I suspect my retiring had something to do with it before adding that she fully acknowledges the contribution her teammates had to this fairytale ending to her club career “I had amazing support and I think several other of my teammates deserved this trophy so I am just honoured to win it and I am very happy because it will always remember me of this evening,” says Oftedal The Norwegian centre back will now play the final matches of her career in Paris where Norway aim to secure gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games With five EHF EURO titles and three world championship trophies only the Olympic title is missing from Oftedal’s career And if she is to emulate this evening in Budapest The quarter-final lineup in the EHF Champions League Women was confirmed this weekend in the decisive second leg of the play-offs highlighted by the Match of the Week on Sunday between Ikast Handbold and SG BBM Bietigheim when the German club secured their spot in the next phase We’re wrapping up the live blog and the play-offs with the day review of today’s matches Yesterday, Vipers managed to secure their quarter-final spot after defeating DVSC on aggregate, while Bietigheim, CSM and FTC also joined the lineup on Sunday. The first leg of the quarter-finals will be played on 27/28 April and the following weekend, 4/5 May, is reserved for the reverse fixtures. Full schedule will be available here We hope you’ve enjoyed this action-packed weekend SECOND LEG: After Vipers Kristiansand on Saturday CSM Bucuresti and SG BBM Bietigheim booked EHF CLW qu… Qualifying to the EHF Champions League quarter-finals looks like this Let's see what the teams had to say after today's matches: SG BBM Bietigheim: “In both matches we played at a very high level they are very good and we knew we had to play at the top level respect is the keyword between these two teams We are the ones leaving the arena to go to the quarter-finals we struggled in the attack in the first half but I think we didn't give them hope in the game we wanted to finish the match like winners and enjoy handball!” It was an incredible battle for the last quarter-final spot FTC continue on the Golden Road to Budapest to meet Esbjerg in the next phase Even though Brest started the weekend as favourites after their 30:28 win in the first leg their efforts in the defence weren't enough today to stop the Hungarians Five goals down (27:22) and five minutes left Brest are running out of time and they can only hope now to get this match to penalty throws Angela Malestein brought her A-game today and is the top scorer for the Hungarian side with eight goals What a 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓! 🥵#ehfcl #clw #daretorise pic.twitter.com/jOks6HPiME FTC can't seem to create a safe distance ahead of Brest as the French stay two or three goals behind A shot by Angela Malestein takes FTC to four goals in front (21:17) and we're midway through the second half Valeriia Maslova was among the top scorers of the competition with 94 goals BIG shots courtesy of 𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒊𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒂 ©️💪#ehfcl #clw #daretorise pic.twitter.com/3YdiJPYSGC but the French managed to make a comeback at the time and grab a win (30:28) We're back to a two-goal difference (14:12) which is not exactly the ideal situation for the guests FTC need to pick up the pace in order to increase the gap and overcome the goal deficit from the first leg Last week's stars Valeriia Maslova and Andrea Lekic are both key players in attack who put pressure on their hosts and lead by five goals at the moment (12:7) Not an ideal first half for the French and Brest ask for a timeout as head coach Pablo Morel is looking for solutions to bounce back with Katrin Klujber and Andrea Lekic leading the Hungarian attack It's a fast-paced game so far and the French hosts manage to stay close to their guests (6:4) Good start for 𝐅𝐓𝐂 in Brest! Last year's finalists have to erase a 2-goal-deficit from the 1st leg to make it to the quarter-finals! 👀#ehfcl #clw #daretorise pic.twitter.com/ASH0x4cApJ The game is underway and FTC have the first attack The match in Arena de Brest will start soon and here are the players on which head coach Pablo Morel can count today Heading to France for the final match of the play-offs between Brest Bretagne and FTC the Hungarians lost their one-goal advantage at the break and were narrowly defeated in Erd Arena (28:30) The numbers aren’t on FTC’s side today either as they have never managed to win an away match against Brest Follow the live stream on EHFTV (geo-blocking may apply) and find out who will get to face Esbjerg in the quarter-finals A powerful attack paired with a strong defence helped CSM secure their presence in the quarter-finals where they will have to get past Metz on the Golden Road to Budapest Cristina Neagu stole the spotlight again with seven goals while Laura Glauser saved 14 shots (40 per cent efficiency) to lead her team to a win It's just a matter of time until the hosts can officially celebrate grabbing their quarter-final ticket it's hard for Krim to continue fighting and reduce the current four-goal gap (28:24) Another save from Laura Glauser makes the Slovenians' job even harder CSM Bucuresti have made it to the quarter-finals of the EHF Champions League in the previous eight seasons and they are heading in the same direction once again with Cristina Neagu reaching seven goals scored The advantage from the first leg is definitely reassuring for the home team as it would take a miracle for Krim to make such a strong comeback in the remaining eight minutes of the match 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝑵𝒆𝒂𝒈𝒖 simply doing what she does best! 👏#ehfcl #clw #daretorise pic.twitter.com/8mHwy18Hgb There have been a few attacks with no goals on either side and now it's CSM's turn to stop for a timeout Adi Vasile's team seems to have lost focus in the last minutes Difficult start for Krim in the second half CSM increase the gap to four goals (18:14) and it's a timeout for the Slovenians who really need to get their head back in the game As we're waiting for the match in Bucharest to restart Jovanka Radicevic and Daria Dmitrieva lead Krim's attack with five and three goals Laura Flippes and Vilde Ingstad are currently at three goals each in the first half while last week's Player of the Match Cristina Neagu sits with only two goals so far Did 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒚𝒂 𝑫𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒂 even see the goal in that first scene?! 👀😂#ehfcl #clw #daretorise pic.twitter.com/5fyqVCXEfA Despite Krim's chance of going into the second half ahead of CSM the Romanians still kept control of the game and scored through Ingstad to secure a one-goal advantage at the break It's 13:13 at the moment and the Slovenians ask for a timeout They have a good chance of ending this first half with an advantage Several missed opportunities for CSM and Krim get the match back to square one the Romanians net quickly to restore their advantage (11:10) Krim are trying to find ways to get past the Romanian defence as Laura Glauser has been great between the posts so far Adi Vasile calls for a timeout in hopes of increasing the gap to Krim CSM are determined to offer their Romanian fans a wonderful show today Sunday - 'S' stands for steal 🤝#ehfcl #clw #daretorise pic.twitter.com/KqHH0aiqut Ten minutes in and CSM manage to distance themselves to two goals (5:3) An error on the Romanian side gives Krim the opportunity to score and reach 5:4 where CSM welcome Krim in an intense game that starts at 16:00 CET The Romanians managed to get the largest win in the first leg of the play-offs it’s going to be a difficult mission for Krim this afternoon as they have to overcome the six-goal deficit in front of the crowd in Bucharest If the Slovenians fail to qualify in the quarter-finals today it’ll be the second consecutive season in which they lose against a Romanian team at this stage of the competition Rapid Bucuresti narrowly won 54:53 on aggregate against Krim in the play-offs to snatch a quarter-final ticket A well-deserved Player of the Match award for Gabriela Moreschi who celebrates qualifying to the quarter-finals with Bietigheim They will face Odense on the Golden Road to Budapest which gave Ikast the opportunity to retake the lead Bietigheim kept their cool and netted quickly to take the score to 31:31 and secure their first quarter-final berth in the EHF Champions League And Ikast level the game (30:30) with less than three minutes left on the clock The clock is ticking and that's putting even more pressure on Ikast They are now dangerously close to Bietigheim (28:27) but let's also keep in mind the two-goal difference from the first leg Bietigheim have taken advantage of their opponents' mistakes throughout the game as Ikast get closer and are now only two goals behind A goal from Dorottya Faluvégi increases Bietigheim's lead to three (25:22) Ikast's form on home court this season has been nearly perfect Bietigheim have lacked in performance in their away games since the start of the season but they definitely came to Denmark motivated and willing to grab their first quarter-final ticket No major changes in the game after the break as the guests are still in the lead (23:18) The second half starts in Denmark and Ikast have 30 minutes to try and turn the match in their favour Despite a promising start from the Danish side Kasper Christensen's team couldn't stay ahead for long and Bietigheim quickly picked up the pace to take the lead Goalkeepers Irma Schjött and Gabriela Moreschi are both key players today but Bietigheim rely on a stonger attack due to Antje Döll and Xenia Smits' performances Five minutes left until the break and Ikast can't seem to find and keep a steady rhythm They have managed to reduce the gap to one goal a few times but Bietigheim are one step ahead and keep their lead Ingvild Bakkerud and Antje Döll are top scorers of their teams at the moment Gabriela Moreschi was the second best goalkeeper in the standings managing six crucial saves so far to get Bietigheim to a 11:9 lead The look on 𝑮𝒂𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒂 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒊'𝒔 face after her first safe 👀🥶#ehfcl #clw #daretorise #MOTW pic.twitter.com/hbihvzCarf A series of mistakes from Ikast gave Bietigheim the opportunity to recover and level the match to 7:7 A wonderful goal from Antje Döll helps the Germans take the lead midway through the first half (8:7) Both teams missed their first attacks in the game but Ikast finally opened the score with a goal from Markéta Jerábková The hosts have already managed to distance themselves to two goals after the first six minutes (4:2) with the guests having the first possession Less than 10 minutes left until the first whistle and that’s plenty of time for you to check out the key numbers for our MOTW Julian Rux has analysed the data for Ikast and Bietigheim and provided a few insights which might be decisive in today’s game STATS COUNTER: The numbers behind the second leg of the EHF Champions League play-off between Ikast and Bietigheim The teams have already started warming up, as the arena is still waiting for all fans to arrive. 20 minutes to go until throw-off, so make sure to follow the MOTW live on EHFTV (geo-restrictions may apply) you might also want to take a look at the latest episode of “The Spin” podcast which features the German left back Xenia Smits: where Ikast welcome Bietigheim in the MOTW at 14:00 CET The Germans traveled to IBF Arena with high hopes for today after last week’s hard-fought win on home court helped Bietigheim erase Ikast’s three-goal advantage in the second half and finish with a 29:27 victory It’s going to be a difficult match for both former EHF European League winners ⎯ Ikast in 2023 and Bietigheim the year before ⎯ and Jakob Vestergaard is well aware of that At the helm of Bietigheim since last summer which also includes two previous stints at Ikast Here’s what the Danish coach has to say about the MOTW: FEATURE: Coach Jakob Vestergaard returns to Denmark with SG BBM Bietigheim for the MOTW and the quest for the quarter-finals Welcome back to the last day of the EHF Champions League play-offs Györ found out their quarter-final opponents after Vipers’ Lois Abbingh scored a last-minute goal to tie 27:27 against DVSC (56:55 on aggregate) with three intense battles for the remaining quarter-final tickets By the end of the day we will find out who joins Odense Metz and Esbjerg on the Golden Road to Budapest Read everything you need to know about today’s games in our preview: PLAY-OFF PREVIEW: Second leg of EHF Champions League Women play-offs this weekend confirms quarter-final lineup But make sure you join us again on Sunday at 13:00 CET for the remaining three second leg matches Starting at 14:00 CET Match of the Week Ikast - Bietigheim at 16:00 CET CSM - Krim and finally at 18:00 CET Brest - FTC and we also have The Spin episode with Xenia Smits to prepare you for the matches as well as the Stats Counter and MOTW feature Adrian Costeiu brings you the review of today's shock match in Kristiansand SECOND LEG: A goal scored by Lois Abbingh with six seconds to go sealed a 27:27 draw for Vipers against DVSC and ensured a quarte… And here are the reactions from DVSC's head coach he's disappointed having come so close to knocking out the current champions Surely it must be nice to be Lois Abbingh these days including the one that sent her team to the quarter-finals Relive this crazy comeback from Vipers on our YouTube channel: As I've mentioned at the end of the first half someone would have to join Anna Vyakhireva on the offensive end Lois Abbingh jumped in by scoring six goals in the second half Vyakhireva added another five to end the match with 10 making her the top scorer of the competition at this moment (103) Szabó couldn't keep the same level as in the first 20 minutes with Lunde saving 10 shots for the home side we can say that experience prevailed in favour of Vipers They were so close to being eliminated in front of their home fans but instead celebrated a sweet victory in the dying seconds Here's that magical goal from Abbingh which sent the home crowd into raptures 𝐋𝐨𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡 to the rescue! 🚀🥶#ehfcl #clw #daretorise pic.twitter.com/ClKGohpbhZ DVSC will be bitterly disappointed not to have secured at least the penalty shoot-out having lead the vast majority of this match Several times they were five goals to the good The Hungarian team played pretty well in the first leg as well and have every right to feel aggrieved having let this opportunity slip all credit to Vipers who have yet again clawed their way back In the first leg they recovered from four goals down to secure a valuable single goal advantage while today they came back from a deficit of five goals In the quarter-finals Vipers will play Györ group A winners on 27/28 April and 4/5 May Half a minute to go DVSC were a goal in front (27:26) after Gabriel made a terrific save but missed from outside before Hlavatý called for a timeout Literally five seconds until the final buzzer Lois Abbingh - first leg's hero - found the net from nine metres to send Vipers through to the quarter-finals Abbingh's wonder goal in the final seconds put Vipers in the quarter-finals it's 26:26 after goals from Vyakhireva and Mira Vámos Vyakhireva has scored again for Vipers' first lead of the match but it was short-lived as Grosch and Töpfner turned it around (23:24) Abbingh scored from her own half into an empty net to level the match (21:21) Töpfner is once more cold-blooded from the penalty shot and Vyakhireva has broken the 100-goal mark this season And now a splendid individual act from Vyakhireva to level this tie on aggregate DVSC hold on to a single goal lead (21:20) but the total score is now equal because Vipers won the first leg by one goal Vipers are on a 4-1 run now so it's only a two-goal game but the magic from Szabó and Vamos has disappeared and the defence is not so stable anymore Vipers have made 11 technical faults as opposed to DVSC's four Abbingh fails to outsmart the Croatian international from the penalty shot and soon after Grosch scores from the fast break A magnificent goal from nine metres with DVSC suffering from two suspensions but playing with an extra attacking player in that particular case Schulze and Abbingh narrow it down to four but DVSC run away to a five-goal lead once more let's see what the next 30 minutes have in store for us here Nina Szabó was exceptional in the first half Even when she went goalless in the final 11 minutes of the first period DVSC managed to even further pull away from Vipers 𝑵𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝑺𝒛𝒂𝒃𝒐́ is almost always one step ahead today! 🌪️#ehfcl #clw #daretorise pic.twitter.com/MnYoGZ3bga It's been possibly the best half of the season from DVSC and probably the worst from Vipers The triple reigning champions have it all to do in the final 30 minutes as they trail by five goals Gabrijela Bartulovic made two important saves in the final moments of the first half while Töpfner again converted the penalty shot to make it 15:10 Szabó with six goals and Bartulovic with nine saves (47 per cent efficiency) lead the way for the guests but someone will have to join her after the break 𝗩𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗞𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱 simply can't overcome 𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐣𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐜 right now! 👀#ehfcl #clw #daretorise pic.twitter.com/qIsk5UkTFj but Arcos Poveda fails to convert her attacking play Vipers can't seem to string a few good plays and the punishment arrives pretty soon Töpfner scores from the wing and the score now says 14:9 in favour of DVSC In the whole first match Nina Szabó scored six goals She's equalled that performance after 19 minutes of the second leg She's unstoppable and Vipers simply don't know how to contain her who converted more penalty shots in the group phase than any other player Vyakhireva and Abbingh try to keep Vipers close but Szabó is determined to keep DVSC as far away from them as possible After several minutes Vipers finally find the net to reduce their gap to 5:3 (Næs Andersen) Szabó responded with already her third goal of the match to make it 6:3 Given that Vipers are seriously struggling right now DVSC probably feel they could have had an even larger advantage First timeout by the home coach Tomás Hlavatý Goalkeepers are beginning to find their rhythm Now Petra Vamos netted for DVSC and they lead 4:2 The deadlock is broken by two quick goals from Nina Szabó for DVSC's lead before Anna Vyakhireva scored her 94th goal of the season for Vipers She's now tied at the top of the competition's scorers list with Valeriia Maslova ✨𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕✨ for 𝗗𝗩𝗦𝗖 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗿! 👀#ehfcl #clw #daretorise pic.twitter.com/VkWfzzZ910 Home fans in Aquarama Kristiansand are in full voice as we're about to start the match The teams are warming up with only 10 minutes to go until the throw-off their EHF Champions League campaign has been a success this season "We played a match with a sensational atmosphere on Sunday against Vipers I would like us to take with us everything that we showed in the home game the uncompromising game that we produced in Debrecen we have to correct the mistakes we made at home It needs to be said that DVSC were heavily weakened in the first leg playing without the injured duo Konszuéla Hámori and Petra Vamos A post shared by DVSC SCHAEFFLER 🔴⚪️ (@dvschandball) Vipers' coach Tomás Hlavatý acknowledges his team were not at their best in Debrecen and expects a better performance today and we felt in the away game that we still have a little more to go We are even better than what we were able to show We will be ready from the first second to show what we are good for It becomes important that we focus on ourselves and that we do the work we have to do we can create a fantastic Saturday evening!" I morgen kommer DVSC Schaeffler på besøk til returoppgjøret i Champions League playoff. Vi leder med ETT mål fra borteoppgjøret. Dette vil du ikke gå glipp av. Kjøp billetter NÅ 🤾🏼‍♀️🤾🏼‍♀️🎫: https://t.co/Jv6yZQPH11🏟️: Aquarama. 18:00🧐: https://t.co/o8ANfMx8Mq📷: Hans Lie pic.twitter.com/JGMyTTaIbp It's important to stress that there will be no overtime whatsoever If the aggregate result after two matches is to be tied The winners meet group A winners Györ in the quarter-finals Vipers are aiming to secure their fourth consecutive appearance in the CL quarter-finals unlike DVSC who are looking for their best result in only their third participation if they reached the quarter-finals at the expense of the current titleholders Previous weekend both teams had commitments in their respective domestic championships which they finished with the same amount of goals scored Vipers beat Fana 38:25 to prolong their winning streak (23 matches while DVSC also had no issues versus Dunaujvarosi 38:28 to keep third position behind fellow Champions League foes Györ and FTC Dutch international Lois Abbingh was in scintillating form for Vipers That was her best offensive performance ever in the EHF Champions League Women Katrine Lunde also made several important saves when it mattered most triple reigning champions Vipers showed their true colours just in time with a 7:2 run to take the first leg 29:28 but their experience proved vital in the end DVSC are still within reach and they will be optimistic knowing Vipers have already lost three home matches this season they've won 18 out of the last 23 home matches in CL Before we turn our complete focus to Kristiansand Almost every clash was quite thrilling and tense with three of them finishing by no less than a two-goal margin The only team with a bigger breathing space are CSM Bucuresti who enjoy a six-goal lead against Krim Mercator Ljubljana (30:24) Brest Bretagne Handball beat FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria 30:28 on the road Vipers Kristiansand grabbed a tight win at DVSC Schaeffler (29:28) while SG BBM Bietigheim outmuscled Ikast Handbold 29:27 Of course, no better way to get prepared for this weekend's action than studying the second-leg preview written by EHF journalists Daniela Vekić and Adrian Costeiu: time to get some of the world's best handball players on the court Welcome to the live blog for the all-decisive second leg of the play-offs in the EHF Champions League women It is make or break for the eight teams in the play-offs: either they book their ticket to the quarter-finals or they say goodbye to Europe for this season Below you see the highly contested Golden Road to Budapest and here are the four pairing this weekend that decide who take the next step on that road to the EHF FINAL4 Women 2024 on 1/2 June: FEATURE: Cristina Neagu played her last match in the EHF Champions League Women and retires as the all-time top scorer of the competition QUARTER-FINAL REVIEW: Team Esbjerg stop CSM Bucuresti in Cristina Neagu's final game and clinch EHF FINAL4 spot Sign In Register Bundesliga\",\"href\":\"/aktuelles/2-handball-bundesliga\",\"icon\":{\"name\":\"Handball_Bundesliga\",\"isSpecific\":true},\"menuItems\":[]},{\"label\":\"3 Bundesliga\",\"href\":\"/aktuelles/handball-frauen-bundesliga\",\"icon\":{\"name\":\"HBF\",\"isSpecific\":true},\"menuItems\":[]},{\"label\":\"2 Bundesliga\",\"href\":\"/aktuelles/2-handball-bundesliga-frauen\",\"icon\":\"$7:props:children:1:props:children:0:props:children:1:props:menu:0:menuItems:1:menuItems:1:icon\",\"menuItems\":[]},{\"label\":\"3 Neben Gabriela Moreschi wird auch die Niederländerin Inger Smits für den Klub auflaufen.\",\"alternates\":{\"canonical\":\"https://www.handball-world.news/artikel/weltmeisterin-inger-smits-verlaesst-bundesliga-986800\"},\"openGraph\":{\"title\":\"Weltmeisterin Inger Smits verlässt Bundesliga\",\"description\":\"Der CSM Bukarest hat zum zweiten Mal in Bietigheim zugeschlagen 10:38\"}],[\"$\",\"p\",null,{\"className\":\"text-brand2 font-knockout29 text-subTitle\",\"children\":\"Ambitionierter Verein schlägt zu\"}],[\"$\",\"h2\",null,{\"className\":\"font-knockout50 text-title\",\"children\":\"Weltmeisterin Inger Smits verlässt Bundesliga\"}]]}],[\"$\",\"p\",null,{\"className\":\"font-tiemposSemi text-flowText\",\"children\":\"Der CSM Bukarest hat zum zweiten Mal in Bietigheim zugeschlagen Neben der brasilianischen Torhüterin Gabriela Moreschi wird auch die Niederländerin Inger Smits für den ambitionierten Hauptstadtklub auflaufen.\"}]]}],[\"$\",\"figure\",null,{\"className\":\"py-4 md:px-4 lg:py-8\",\"children\":[[\"$\",\"img\",null,{\"sizes\":\"(max-width: 661px) 375px,(max-width: 864px) 661px In Bukarest hebt man vor allem die Abwehrqualitäten der Rückraumspielerin hervor in der tollen Atmosphäre in Bukarest zu spielen\\\" sagt Smits bei der \",[\"$\",\"$L1c\",null,{\"href\":\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C1OuBX0MAvw/\",\"prefetch\":false,\"scroll\":false,\"className\":\"hover:text-brand1 font-semibold underline underline-offset-2\",\"children\":[\"offiziellen Videopräsentation\"]}],\" in den sozialen Medien ihres Klubs Die Gelegenheit bietet sich dafür schon in der laufenden Saison Februar spielt Smits noch einmal mit Bietigheim als Kontrahentin in Bukarest.\"]}]}],[\"$\",\"div\",\"2\",{\"className\":\"mb-4 px-4 last:mb-0 lg:mb-8\",\"children\":[\"$\",\"p\",null,{\"className\":\"font-tiempos text-flowText\",\"children\":\"Inger Smits war 2021 von Borussia Dortmund an die Enz gekommen Die handballerischen Wurzeln der 29-Jährigen liegen beim niederländischen Traditionsverein V \u0026 L Geleen Über Handbal Venlo und den SV Dalfsen kam sie 2015 erstmals nach Deutschland zum VfL Oldenburg deren Bruder Kay aktuell bei der SG Flensburg-Handewitt unter Vertrag ist in Dänemark auch für TTH Holstebro.\"}]}],[\"$\",\"$1\",\"3\",{\"children\":[[\"$\",\"div\",null,{\"className\":\"mb-4 px-4 last:mb-0 lg:mb-8\",\"children\":[\"$\",\"p\",null,{\"className\":\"font-tiempos text-flowText\",\"children\":\"\\\"Ich hatte eine super schöne Zeit in Bietigheim und bin dem Verein der Mannschaft und den Fans für die wertvollen Erinnerungen sehr dankbar um die Saison erfolgreich abzuschließen und die gemeinsamen Ziele zu erreichen!\\\" Der CSM Bukarest hat zum zweiten Mal in Bietigheim zugeschlagen Neben der brasilianischen Torhüterin Gabriela Moreschi wird auch die Niederländerin Inger Smits für den ambitionierten Hauptstadtklub auflaufen Die Weltmeisterin von 2019 unterzeichnete einen Zweijahresvertrag die sich dann unter anderem mit Welthandballerin Cristina Neagu oder der Slowenin Elizabeth Omoregie die Einsatzzeiten kämpfen wird "Ich kann es kaum erwarten, in der tollen Atmosphäre in Bukarest zu spielen", sagt Smits bei der offiziellen Videopräsentation in den sozialen Medien ihres Klubs Februar spielt Smits noch einmal mit Bietigheim als Kontrahentin in Bukarest Inger Smits war 2021 von Borussia Dortmund an die Enz gekommen Die handballerischen Wurzeln der 29-Jährigen liegen beim niederländischen Traditionsverein V & L Geleen "Ich hatte eine super schöne Zeit in Bietigheim und bin dem Verein um die Saison erfolgreich abzuschließen und die gemeinsamen Ziele zu erreichen!" wurde Smits in einer Vereinsmitteilung des Deutschen Meisters zitiert