Summary: Odense win tense match against Brest

• Krim beat FTC 33:26 in Match of the Week on Saturday; Metz deliver 30:22 defeat to Dortmund
• on Sunday, Odense win against Brest Bretagne after a tense encounter (25:24)
• Ana Gros makes an epic return to Krim with 13 goals
• Vote for your player of the weekend here!

SUNDAY 27 MARCH

18:00

We are done here so before you go why not cast a vote for your top performer of the weekend! 

Just below you can find the match report from today's tie, we will see you for the return legs on April 2/3. 

17:34

RESULT: Odense Håndbold 25:24 Brest Bretagne Handball 

What a finish to the game! Total carnage for the last 5 minutes. Foppa gets herself a silly two minutes for pulling on the shirt of Odense's Iversen and Aardahl lobs it over Toft to give them a two-goal lead with just 22 seconds left. Polish international Kobylinska with the last throw of the game nets a rocket to bring it back to a one-goal game and sets us up for a tantalising return leg in France. 

17:24

Oh Housheer misses a chance, not the easiest as she was under big pressure from the defender and the angle wasn't amazing but Brest will feel they got away with one there. It is their ball and we are all square.

17:24

What a game! We are back to within one thanks to a such defensive play by Odense and a quick fast break goal! Don't miss the last 5!

17:16

Huge saves at both ends of the court; Thorn in the Odense goal and Toft in the Brest goal! Both keepers trying to outdo themselves, we are back to within a goal at 20:21 to Brest. 

17:02

Hello Odense? They went just 8 minutes without scoring a goal and it really hurt them. They have lost their lead and now trail by 17:14. Norwegian international Helene Fauske is really hurting Odense in the opening minutes of the second half. She netted a tidy hattrick to bring her full tally to 5 from six shots. Game on!

16:39

HALF-TIME: Odense Håndbold 13:12 Brest Bretagne Handball 

Wow! Odense are taking no prisoners in defence some seriously big hits being put in and you can see that via the seven meters awarded to Brest. The French side have scored more from the spot than from open play (7 from 12). But Brest's backcourt is being really bullied by this Odense defence. The big question is: can Odense keep up this intensity in defence? Or do Brest have an answer for it in the second half?  

16:31

Eight penalties have been given out already and there is only 25 minutes gone. Just shows you the pressure each centre block is being put under.

One seven-meter penalty has been awarded to Odense while Brest have scored six of their goals from the seven penalties awarded to them.

16.25

Althea Reinhardt in flying form so far with her 5 saves. She is causing the Brest attack real problems who are struggling with a poor shooting percentage (56%). But the Danish star keeper has just taken a shot to the face from Niakate, let's hope she isn't too shaken from it. 

16:12

We are off to a flying start here in Denmark! Could be the day of a showdown of two of the world's most in-form keepers in Althea Reinhardt of Odense and Sandra Toft of Brest. And Reinhardt has made her presence known early on here after stopping a Tonje Loseth seven meter effort, she is fired up! Odense 7:5 Brest

15:57

EHFTV time folks! 

15:40

We are just 20 minutes away from today's clash. Only two sides — Krim and Dortmund — clinched fewer points in away games this season than Brest’s five, as the French side had significant trouble on away courts.
But the French champions have not lost against Danish opponents in their last eight games in the premium European competition, with the most recent loss coming against Odense in January 2019

14:20

At 16:00 (CET) today we have our only EHF Champions League Women match of today! But what a head-to-head it is... This play-off clash sees Odense Håndbold host French side Brest Bretagne Handball. 

SATURDAY 26 MARCH

20:15

So coming up tomorrow, there's just one play-off game as Odense host last year's runners-up Brest Bretagne. Brest have struggled this season in their away games, but equally have generally succeeded against Danish sides in the past three years. However, Odense was the last Danish team to beat them, back in January 2019. That all adds up to a tantalising match in store for you at 16:00 CET on Sunday. 

20:05

Here are the match reviews from today's two games - find out what the keys were to Metz and Krim's wins, and our journalists' assessments of what might happen next week.

19:50

So that's the first day of the EHF Champions League Women play-offs done, and Metz do look like they're in a strong position to progress through to the EHF FINAL4 - the winner of their tie with Dortmund skipping the quarter-finals due to Rostov's elimination from that stage.

Krim also take a healthy advantage to the second leg, where they will surely find an FTC fired up for their last chance to make it to the quarter-finals. For Krim, a quarter-final spot would be their best result in nine seasons.

19:28 FULL-TIME | BV BORUSSIA 09 DORTMUND 22:30 METZ HANDBALL

The final result is conclusive, albeit perhaps not as conclusive as it looked earlier on. Dortmund have a direct free throw to end the match, but it goes wide and Metz have a foot in the EHF FINAL4. They have also continued their impressive away run, and notched up a 10th win against a German team in the EHF Champions League. 

Alina Grijseels is top scorer with nine goals from 16 shots; every one of the Metz players scored, led by six for Meline Nocandy. Ivana Kapitanovic was incredible, saving 18 shots for a save efficiency of 46 per cent. 

19:18

Emmanuel Mayonnade calls a timeout as Dortmund close up to 21:26. He sounds noticeably more urgent than earlier in the match. Metz still look likely to win, but they are making their job next week harder than it would have been had they not held on to that earlier advantage.

Dortmund are playing much better now, with Mia Zschocke and Alina Grijseels leading the attack.

19:06

A few errors are creeping into Metz's play, and Dortmund have brought it back to a six-goal deficit. There's still time for Dortmund here unless Metz regroup quickly - we're not yet into the fourth quarter of the match.

18:56

Six minutes into the second half and Dortmund's woes continue - although Merel Freriks scores a very nice goal to make it 13:21. 

18:38 HALF-TIME | BV BORUSSIA DORTMUND 9:18 METZ HANDBALL

Despite some good play from Dortmund - see Mia Zschocke's effort below as an example - Metz are currently just too strong for the German side. It's a real team effort from the visitors - Debbie Bont and Laura Kanor are the only field players not to score, and Ivana Kapitanovic has saved 50 per cent of Dortmund's shots.

For Dortmund, Alina Grijseels is doing her best but too many of the home team's shots are missing and they're failing to punish Metz's mistakes.

18:31

Metz are looking commanding with an eight-goal lead, playing with power and flow.

Here's that goal from Grace Zaadi marking her return to the team.

18:21

Grace Zaadi scores Metz's 10th goal. Earlier, Meline Nocandy produced an excellent assist for Sarah Bouktit which is well worth a watch.

18:17

Dortmund are struggling to find the net. Their top scorer Alina Grijseels has put away two penalties, but no field goals yet. That said, Metz also had a dry patch of around five minutes and have only just now netted their eighth goal. As the commentators have noted, every goal counts in this contest. A quarter of the match is gone and it's 4:8.

18:05

They're underway in Dortmund and Metz have made a strong start, scoring three times in five minutes to Dortmund's zero. A few mistakes from Dortmund have cost them.

17:50

The next game throws off at 18:00 CET as away queens Metz visit Dortmund. The French side scored more points away than at home in the group phase, and have won their last nine matches against German opponents in the Champions League. They are also buoyed by the return of Grace Zaadi to the roster. 

On the other hand, we've just seen in Ljubljana that you can't discount teams at this stage of the competition. Dortmund need to snap a five-game losing streak, but there is a place in the EHF FINAL4 at stake for the winner of this double-header. Could that be the incentive they need?

This game will have German commentary on EHFTV.

17:33 FULL-TIME | KRIM MERCATOR LJUBLJANA 33:26 FTC-RAIL CARGO HUNGARIA

What a game from Krim! FTC came in as the favourites, after a much stronger group phase, but buoyed by the return of Ana Gros the Slovenian club have taken a significant seven-goal first-leg victory.

Gros is named Player of the Match after scoring 13 times. 

17:28

A strong run of play from Krim, including a great steal from Katerina Krpez-Slezak, was interrupted by a couple of suspensions in quick succession, but with Szandra Szöllosi-Zácsik also suspended in that period the hosts were able to stay comfortably ahead. There's just time for a last timeout from Krim. 

17:15

There's 10 minutes to play and Jovana Risovic has just made another save. The Krim goalkeeper is up to 13 now - it's an amazing performance from the Serbian. 

17:09

Ana Gros has netted six times in the first 15 minutes of the second half to bring her game total to 10, spurring Krim to a six-goal lead. She's turning out to be an extremely useful transfer for Krim - it can't hurt that she knows many of her teammates well from the Slovenian national team.

Gabor Elek has called a timeout, recognising that now is the time to act. Even if FTC lose, they want to keep the margin as slim as possible to give them the best chance of a home and aggregate win next week.

17:02

With the second half 10 minutes in, Krim still have a narrow lead. Jovana Risovic is playing brilliantly, and the fact she has made 12 saves to Kinga Janurik's eight is the principal difference right now in a very close and exciting game. 

16:51

Both Angela Malestein and Emily Bölk have continued their impressive form as the play-offs have started, with four goals each in the first half. This was possibly the pick of the bunch for Bölk.

16:38 HALF-TIME | KRIM MERCATOR LJUBLJANA 15:14 FTC-RAIL CARGO HUNGARIA

Emily Bölk just squeezes in a shot before the buzzer, and Krim go into the break one goal up. It's been a good showing from the home team so far. Ana Gros has made an impact, scoring four times, while Katarina Krpez-Slezak leads the scoring with five goals. 

16:32

Krim have their first two-goal lead thanks to Tjaša Stanko, at 13:11 - and then a save from Jovana Risovic followed by an excellent pick-up and long-range shot by Allison Pineau makes it 14:11. This is the first significant gap in the game, just before half-time.

16:25

There's really not much in this game. Krim have a chance to go two up with a Katarina Krpez-Slezak penalty, but Kinga Janurik saves it. At the other end, Jovana Risovic also saves. Krim lead 11:10. 

16:12

After 10 minutes it's 5:5, before Beatrice Edwige nets her first for FTC. 

Here's Ana Gros's first shot.

16:04

Emily Bölk is FTC's second top scorer of the season and she is the first player to score as the play-offs get underway, netting after 43 seconds. 

Ana Gros does not delay in scoring her first goal for Krim since 2010, replying after two and a half minutes to put Krim level.

15:56

MOTW is about to throw off! Here are the key stats from the group phase for both teams.

15:40

Before the MOTW we caught up with Krim goalkeeper Barbara Arenhart. Krim have had the tougher season, qualifying from sixth place in group B, but Arenhart says that her team will fight all the way for a place in the quarter-finals. 

"From now on, nothing that you did in the past counts," she points out. 

Krim have bolstered their team with two transfers: Tatjana Brnovic has joined from Rostov-Don, and Ana Gros moves over from Metz. Gros started her EHF Champions League career at Krim, and will doubtless be a welcome sight on the court for the Slovenian club. Meanwhile FTC have picked up Beatrice Edwige from Rostov, so she and Brnovic will get to play against each other for the first time. 

Read more in the MOTW feature.

15:15

It's play-offs time in the EHF Champions League Women! After the break for international duty, the club teams are back together and are playing for a place in the next round of the competition.

This weekend marks the start of the play-offs, with three double-header matches over today and tomorrow, followed by three more next weekend. 

Odense Håndbold, Brest Bretagne, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria and Krim Mercator Ljubljana are targeting two quarter-final berths to join Györi Audi ETO KC, Team Esbjerg, Vipers Kristiansand and CSM Bucuresti. Györ, Esbjerg and Vipers have progressed thanks to their group phase performance, while CSM made it through after the play-off tie against CSKA was cancelled. 

BV Borussia 09 Dortmund play Metz Handball with the winner progressing straight to the EHF FINAL4 after Rostov-Don were eliminated from the competition. 

Here's the round preview!