Five things to know about the MOTW between Esbjerg and Györ

Györ have locked up a top-two spot in group A, leading the table with 22 points, ahead of Metz Handball on 20 and Esbjerg on 17 points. Metz will claim the second spot if they beat BV Borussia Dortmund this weekend — if not, then Esbjerg are still in with a chance, as Metz and Esbjerg have a direct duel in the concluding round 14 coming up next week.

The MOTW between Esbjerg and Györ on Saturday evening (live on EHFTV at 18:00 CET) promises fireworks as Esbjerg have never beaten the Hungarian champions yet, losing all their 11 previous top-flight clashes.

1. A decade of dominance

The numbers ahead of the duel are heavily on Györ’s side and if you are an Esbjerg fan, just hearing the opponents’ name can make you feel discouraged. Across 11 meetings since February 2017, Esbjerg have yet to taste victory against Györ.

The aggregate score of 326:289 in Györ’s favour masks a painful truth — seven of those defeats came by just one or two goals, suggesting Esbjerg have been so close on multiple occasions yet somehow always found a way to lose.

The reverse fixture in round 2 last September followed the familiar story: Györ edged it 31:30 after the match was level at 15:15 at half-time and Esbjerg were even in front 30:29 with little more than a minute to go.

2. The bronze medal thriller

Not just in the group phase or in the main round, these two teams have also met four times at the EHF FINAL4 — the season’s ultimate spectacle. The 2022 semi-final saw Györ win 32:27 upon Esbjerg’s first appearance in Budapest and it set the tone for years of Danish heartbreak.

A year later, they met in the hunt for the bronze medal. Esbjerg trailed 16:9 at half-time, mounted a comeback to push Györ all the way, but ultimately fell short by a single goal (28:27) in a nail-biting finish.

The teams met again in the 2024 and 2025 semi-finals — with Györ again winning by a single goal both times (24:23 and 29:28, respectively). The Hungarian side went on to lift the trophy on both occasions, and Esbjerg finally saw light at the end of the tunnel as they claimed two consecutive bronze medals, beating Metz both times.

3. Players who know both worlds

Four notable players have experienced life on both sides of this duel, bringing insider knowledge to the mix — two Danes and two Norwegians, split between the two clubs. Now in her fourth season with Esbjerg, Nora Mørk spent three years with Györ — 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 — and lifted the EHF Champions League trophy all three times.

Alongside the Norwegian star, Danish left back Line Haugsted is playing in her second season with Esbjerg, having joined directly from Györ after their title triumph in 2024.

On the other side of the court, Norwegian left back Kristine Breistøl went the opposite way from Haugsted’s, as they swapped clubs two years ago. Breistøl moved to Hungary after six seasons with Esbjerg and she quickly became an important piece of the puzzle, winning the EHF Champions League in her first season with Györ.

The fourth player sharing the experience will not be on court this MOTW: Sandra Toft. The Danish goalkeeper, who is on maternity leave, played for Esbjerg in 2017-19 and arrived in Györ prior to the 2023/24 season.

4. Swedish masterminds

The two teams in this MOTW are from Denmark and Hungary, but they are both led by a head coach from Sweden — Esbjerg’s Tomas Axnér and Györ’s Per Johansson. They once were TV colleagues, sharing their expertise during the EHF EURO 2014, and they are colleagues and friends who share handball insights with each other and have shown mutual respect while walking some of the same paths.

Axnér currently holds dual responsibilities, coaching Esbjerg since the summer of 2024 and Sweden’s national team since 2020, guiding them to the semi-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Johansson served as Sweden assistant coach in 2005-08 before stepping up as head coach until 2012, during which time he guided Sweden to silver at the EHF EURO 2010.

5. Firepower against defensive stronghold

Team Esbjerg have scored the second-most goals of the 16 teams in the group phase and boast the most efficient attack of the group A with 403 goals in 12 matches — an average of 33.6 per game, a feat they share with group B leaders Brest Bretagne Handball.

Esbjerg have the competition’s top scorer Henny Reistad (85 goals) in their squad. In round 2, the Norwegian standout netted 10 times against Györ, more than a third of Esbjerg’s total production that match.

Györ, though, are not far behind when it comes to attacking power, as their 400 goals rank them fourth on the top scorers list for teams, which is led by group B side Odense Håndbold with 406 goals.

Still, Györ’s main force remains their defence, having conceded just 302 goals (an average of 25.16 per match) so far, 52 fewer than Esbjerg. It has been the bedrock of their 11-1 track record in the group phase, as Györ aim for their 247th top-flight win in their 321st match in the MOTW on Saturday.

photos © nhcfoto.dk (Esbjerg); Roland Peka (Györ)