After beating ES Besancon Feminin in the first leg of their EHF European League Women quarter-final, 29:23, SG BBM Bietigheim have a good chance to progress to the EHF Finals Women.
Bietigheim right back Julia Maidhof proved hard to stop in Sunday afternoon's match, as she made the difference with 10 goals for her side.
QUARTER-FINAL, FIRST LEG
ES Besancon Feminin (FRA) vs SG BBM Bietigheim (GER) 23:29 (13:17)
- the teams exchanged goals early in the march until Bietigheim used a 5:0 run to pull clear at 10:5
- Sakura Hauge made eight saves for Besancon in the first half, but her team still trailed by four goals at half-time
- Bietigheim extended the lead to 23:15 in the 42nd minute, yet the home side did not give up and cut the deficit to four goals, 27:23. However, Kelly Dulfer and Antje Lauenroth netted twice in the last minutes to seal the final score
- Bietigheim's Melinda Szikora stopped 11 shots for a 33 per cent save rate, and two of Besancon's goalkeepers enjoyed exactly the same efficiency: Sakura Hauge made 10 saves, while Roxanne Frank added four more
- the second leg will be held in Ludwigsburg, Germany on Saturday 2 April
Bietigheim extend winning run
Bietigheim, who had played in the EHF Champions League Women in the four previous seasons, are seen as being among the favourites to win the second-tier European club competition, and they keep proving it with their results.
So far, Bietigheim have enjoyed a perfect record in the competition. The win at Besancon was their ninth in a row, including two wins in qualification round 3 against Tertnes Bergen.
If the German side claim three more victories, they will be certain to lift the trophy, but if they lose by fewer than six goals next Saturday, they will remain in the hunt to claim the title.
