Magura Cisnadie have previously played in the group stage of the European club competition twice, in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 EHF Cup, but lost all 12 games. However, now the Romanian team do not want to be outsiders, and they opened the group phase of the EHF European League Women with a home win against Storhamar Handball Elite.
GROUP C
Magura Cisnadie (ROU) vs Storhamar Handball Elite (NOR) 33:28 (16:13)
- in the first half, Cisnadie's goalkeeper Kira Trusova made eight saves, and her teammate Marina Dmitrovic scored seven goals, lifting their team to a three-goal lead at the break
- 10 minutes into the second half, Storhamar cut the deficit to 21:20, but Magura's 4:0 run in the next seven minutes put them into a five-goal lead
- Trusova, who moved to Magura from the Russian side Astrakhanochka last summer, ended the game with 14 saves and 35 per cent save efficiency
- former Norway national player Maja Jakobsen became Storhamar's top scorer with seven goals
- two other teams in group C will meet on Sunday, as Handball Club Lada will host Herning-Ikast Handbold
Neagu played important role
While Dmitrovic scored all her seven goals before the break, her teammate Marilena Neagu played a big role in the crucial phase of the match, as she scored six of her nine goals in the second half.
The 32-year-old right-wing, who is not related to the famous Cristina Neagu, netted both from open play and the seven metre line, as she converted five penalties. In fact, she missed only one shot during the game, in the 59th minute when the outcome was already clear.
