Even though both teams had amazing support from the stands, with one corner filled in red and the other in blue, Gloria's fans were the ones leaving the Raiffeisen Sportpark Graz singing and celebrating. In a high-paced game, it seemed like Gloria did not let the excitement take over, while Braila derailed.
SEMI-FINALS
CS Gloria 2018 BN (ROU) vs HC Dunarea Braila (ROU) 37:26 (20:14)
- Braila opened the game with a nervous attack, losing two early balls but they managed to level seven minutes in
- the main power on the court were both sides' top scorers - Cristina Laslo (CS Gloria 2018 BN) and Katarina Jezic (HC Dunarea Braila)
- the match started to go awry for Braila between the 21st and 25th minute - a 5:1 goal run saw Gloria's fans celebrating a six-goal lead
- Gloria continued to pounce in the second half, having her biggest lead by 13 when coach Florentin Pera gave an opportunity to every player in the squad
- Gloria were boosting on a 51 per cent attack efficiency, while Braila couldn't go above 35
- the +11 win is the biggest one in the EHF Finals semi-final history
Historic final and new hope for Laslo
Gloria was the dominant side on the court on Saturday afternoon in Graz, leaving her fellow Romanian opponents helpless. A sheer number of mistakes, 15 of them, left Braila reeling while Gloria was flying high, mainly thanks to her lynchpin Cristina Laslo. In their only second European season, they will have a chance to fight for glory on Sunday and write new pages in the club's history book.
Their center back scored nine goals and added two assists, with an additional effort in defense. Laslo's third time at the EHF Finals might finally make her lucky. She has a chance to fight for the trophy after finishing third and fourth with CS Minaur Baia Mare in 2020/21 and 2021/22, respectively. Her performance today helped her get to 50 goals in total, being on level with Storhamar's Anniken Obaidli
It is a great thing for all of us we got a chance to play in the semi-finals. It is also great for the team spirit and with good feelings, we are entering the final. We have to focus on ourselves and play like today no matter who we will play against.
We knew we had to prepare ourselves for a hard match but I expected we would be more prepared and more focused. We made too many mistakes in the first half and it looked like we lost our minds. We kind of stopped fighting and I think that was the main problem.
