CSM seal another commanding win against FTC
Boosted by a strong start which saw them create a five-goal gap, CSM Bucuresti secured a clear win against FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, 33:29. This completes a sweep of the Hungarian side in only seven days, since they also clinched a 30:24 win on their home court last Sunday.
GROUP A
FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs CSM Bucuresti (ROU) 29:33 (11:17)
- goalkeeper Marie Davidsen saved five shots in the first nine minutes, for a superb 65% saving efficiency, to propel CSM to a 9:4 lead after only 13 minutes
- it was a lead that they never relinquished and the Romanian side delivered their sixth win in eight matches this season, which translates as their best-ever start in the history of the EHF Champions League Women
- with a four-goal outing, Romanian left back Cristina Neagu became the top goal scorer for this season of the EHF Champions League Women, improving her overall tally to 57 goals
- the Hungarian side are now on a three-game winless streak on their home court, as their last home win, 27:23, against Odense came in the first match of the season this past September
- 16-year-old right wing Dorka Papp scored the first two goals of her career in the European premium competition for FTC, entering late in the game and helping the Hungarian side limit the damage
Brilliant CSM head to quarter-finals
Last Sunday, CSM had to sweat for 45 minutes before finally taking control of the match against FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria and earning a 30:24 win. The two sides faced off again in Hungary seven days later, but it looked like the hosts had learned nothing as they could simply not match the Romanian powerhouse.
At times, the gap was so big that Adrian Vasile even resorted to giving important minutes to young stalwarts like right back Alicia Gogirla and right wing Mihaela Mihai, who scored one goal each. In the end, FTC cut the gap to only four goals, but it was too little, too late, as CSM had already clearly sealed the win.
The Romanian side really means business this season and took another step towards securing one of the top two places in the group. This would result in their first-ever quarter-finals berth, after failing to reach that phase of the competition directly since the European premium competition changed its format in the 2020/21 season.
It is never easy to play on a court like this surrounded by the FTC-supporters. I am happy for the win today. I think we played well and got the 2 points.
Outside of the last 10-15 minutes we did not show our real face. We have to find the reasons for this and fix them.
