CSM mount hard-fought comeback to seal first win of the season

GROUP A

CSM Bucuresti (ROU) vs Krim Mercator Ljubljana (SLO) 30:28 (17:19)

• powered by three goals in a row from Grace Zaadi, CSM started the second half with a 7:2 run, that proved decisive in their quest to secure their first win of the new season
• Jovanka Radicevic was one of Krim’s top scorers of the game, with nine goals, improving her overall tally in the European premium competition to 987 goals
• Krim’s late addition to the roster, centre back Daria Dmitrieva, had an outstanding start of the season, scoring six goals out of her first six shots and finishing the match with nine goals
• CSM’s new signing, Grace Zaadi, was her team’s top scorer in her debut in the European premium competition, taking over the second half, with eight goals
• for the seventh time in eight consecutive seasons, CSM Bucuresti started the European premium competition with a win

Newly-minted CSM snatch hard-fought win

It was not CSM’s prettiest win and it had some vibes from the game against Krim in the previous season, when the Slovenian champions managed to snatch a draw in Bucharest, but one of the shrewdest moves of the summer, bringing in Grace Zaadi, was decisive for the Romanian side.

Zaadi did not shine in the first matches of the season in the domestic league and the Romanian Supercup, but took the game on her own here and delivered an eight-goal performance to lift CSM past Krim.

Cristina Neagu had an unusual off day, scoring only five goals, but was still important in building CSM’s game up.

Dragan Adzic, Krim head coach: "I believe we played at a certain level but I also believe in the future we will only improve!"

Barbara Lazovic, Krim left back: "It was good to be back! Congrats to my ex-colleagues! It was very nice to play in this amazing hall again! I am proud of my girls, we had a good start but I believe we will improve in the future. At some point we lost our focus and CSM has a great team with quality players that punish you for your mistakes."

Adi Vasile, CSM head coach: "I believe it was in our advantage to play so many games before this one today in order to improve our level. Krim made us stretch completely to try to win the game and they put us under very big pressure but I am very proud of my girls because of how we understood to stay in the game. The first game is never easy but everybody is healthy, we got the victory and now we only have to improve!"

Grace Zaadi, CSM centre back: "It was amazing to play here! I knew that Sala Polivalenta has a great atmosphere and the crowd pushed us, it helped us a lot, and I am happy with the first impression that we have showed today! Today I am very happy that I played in the CSM jersey because I was looking forward to meeting the fans! I expect a lot from our fans because we expect them for strong battles here!"