Esbjerg bolster credentials with defeat of Kastamonu

GROUP B

Kastamonu Belediyesi GSK (TUR) vs Team Esbjerg (DEN) 27:43 (12:25)

• Esbjerg secured their fourth win in their last five matches, as they slowly get back into top form, still challenging for one of the top two places in the group, which would put them in the quarter-finals
• a 5:0 run for Esbjerg, between the ninth and 12^thminutes, helped the Danish side establish a 11:5 lead, that proved to be unassailable
• the Danish powerhouse scored the highest number of first half goals in the EHF Champions League Women in their history, beating the previous record of 21 set against Storhamar three rounds ago by four goals
• after winning their first-ever game last week against Lokomotiva Zagreb, Kastamonu went back to their previous woes, but their Angolan right back, Azenaide Carlos, is the third top scorer in the competition, with three goals in the first six matches
• the visitors also recorded their largest-ever win in the competition, a 16-goal difference, beating their previous record, set against Buducnost in September 2021, by a single goal

New records set by Esbjerg

Group B looks more and more like a battle between four teams over the first two places in the final standings, as the gap between fourth place, Esbjerg, and fifth place, Buducnost, is now at three points.

Esbjerg powered to an excellent attacking performance against Kastamonu and set a new record for their best-ever performance in Europe’s top competition. They beat the previous record of 37 goals against Bietigheim in February 2021, by six goals. They also secured their largest-ever win in the EHF Champions League Women, with a flawless performance.

They now have the second-largest average number of goals per game this season, 33.6, following in Bietigheim’s footsteps, with their lowest output being 28 goals in their win against Buducnost.