SEMI-FINAL
Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) vs Team Esbjerg (DEN) 29:28 (17:15)
- both sides had a good defensive start, but Györ took it to the next level and built the base for an early 5:2 lead
- Esbjerg could not find their momentum in the attack, having a shooting efficiency below 35 per cent in the first 15 minutes
- Györ's mistakes opened the path for a comeback, but the Danish side did not fully use it until the last five minutes of the first half when Judith van der Helm levelled (14:14)
- both side's goalkeepers woke up mid second half — the fierce battle between Hatadou Sako and Anna Kristensen steered the game into the uncertainty, but they could not keep it going for a longer period of time
- with the last three minutes on the clock, it was the home side that had a one-goal lead and a superb save by Hatadou Sako against Elin Hansson sealed the deal
- Györ became the first club in EHF Champions League Women history to hit the 9,000-goal mark with their 27th goal, now they are at 9,002
- the competition's top scorer, Henny Reistad, broke her own record of the most goal scored in a single season (in the EHF FINAL4 era) — after netting 142 times in the 2022/23 season, her 2024/25 tally is now at 146 with one more game to go
Insurmountable Györ — once again
Györi Audi ETO KC once again asserted their dominance over Team Esbjerg at the EHF FINAL4 Women edging out a tense one-goal victory in this year's semi-final clash in Budapest. The Hungarian powerhouse came out strong, but could only muster a two-goal lead at half-time. However, their experience shined in the second half as they survived almost all of Esbjerg's attempts to level and took a win, with Dione Housheer's seven goals and Hatadou Sako's five saves in the right moments.
Their defence was razor-sharp in the crucial moments and forced Esbjerg to rush shots. With a narrow but controlled win, Györ proved once more that when it comes to Budapest, they are simply close to unbeatable.
With this win, Györ extend their head-to-head record against Esbjerg to a staggering 10-0, continuing a psychological stronghold that dates back years. Their latest victory echoes the semi-final from 2024, where they also broke Esbjerg hearts with a 24:23 result. This time again, Esbjerg's comeback effort fell just one goal short.
It was a tough fight. Esbjerg played really well, and we were struggling in the defence. Tomorrow we have also a tough fight ahead of us. We have no preferences about the opponent, we have to win against the better team of the two tomorrow, and it is only possible if we do our best.
Overall there were small margins and we had great chances to equalise the game a couple of minutes before the end to really put pressure on Györ. But we didn’t quite succeed on that. It’s, of course, emptiness mixed with a little bit of pride that we delivered maybe our best game of the season.
