FTC celebrate MOTW win; Györ take Hungarian derby
After a three-week break, the EHF Champions League Women 2025/26 is back in action, as Round 5 started on Saturday with five encounters. In the Match of the Week, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria claimed an away win over HC Podravka (37:33), and in the other Group B match, Krim OTP Group Mercator claimed their first points in the tournament, beating CSM Bucuresti 31:27.
Three more encounters were held in Group A – including the Hungarian derby, in which reigning champions Györi Audi ETO KC proved too strong for DVSC Schaeffler, 36:30. In a close fight, Metz Handball defeated Storhamar Handball Elite (27:24), while Gloria Bistrita somewhat surprisingly beat Team Esbjerg 38:35.
This is an extremely important day for us! Renata made a huge contribution in this match, but the entire team worked exceptionally well together. It was a victory built on unity and teamwork. Today we celebrate, but tomorrow we start again with the same determination.
Congratulations to Gloria Bistrița for their performance and attitude today! We knew they were a strong and well organized team. Conceding 38 goals is a clear sign and a lesson for us moving forward. I believe goalkeeper Renata De Arruda made a big difference in this match. It was a well deserved victory for Gloria, and we’ll work to improve in the next games.
We knew we were up against a world-class team in great form. Our plan was to keep Györ's scoring low, but that didn’t work out — we lacked aggression in defence and lost too many one-on-one battles. Even so, I’m proud of the team; we made the Champions League winners fight hard for the victory.
We were well aware that DVSC are a very dangerous rival at home — we’ve had plenty of tight games in this arena before. I’m pleased with how we controlled the match and managed our rotations. It was a well deserved win and a strong overall performance.
It’s never easy to come to Storhamar and win, especially with last year’s match in mind, but we were still hoping for a victory. We also knew before the game that Esbjerg had lost in Bistrița, so the timing was perfect for us to get the win here.
I’m satisfied with the team’s performance today. We’re well aware of Metz’s strengths, and considering the difficulties we’ve had with injuries lately, I’m really proud of the effort my players showed.
This is an opponent that is a heavyweight in the entire Champions League, one of the best teams. They demonstrated both strength and quality today. We also said in the announcement that we were facing great difficulties in the roster. Tonight they were five or six short, while Ana Debelic at about 50 per cent, and we wouldn't even have played with her if Sara Šenvald had played. I regret the opening of the game when we had the opportunity to have a two-three goal advantage. We lacked rotations in the middle of defence. We were thin there. I expect us to consolidate and maybe bring some reinforcements in the pivot position.
It was very important for us to win today. I'm very impressed with the players. During the last period, we had some struggles with the results. We worked really hard. Every player is coming to each training and working hard. So far, it didn't pay off in the matches, but we are on a good path. Today it was a pretty comfortable win. Offence was key, that's why we brought Petra Simon who was in control today and showed great character as an in-game leader. She put a strong performance.
I am so proud of this team and I am so happy to be a part of this team. This gives us a really great feeling and also as a team shows that we can do it and we will move on and give our best.
It’s not about the fact that we lost, but about how we lost. I take full responsibility. I know how important this week was for us — we were on the road for six days. I should have done everything better with the team, to make them understand that it was going to be a tough game, because this is the Champions League and the level is high.
