CSM Bucuresti snatch victory in Neagu’s last dance at home

EHF / Adrian Costeiu

20 April 2025, 15:50

In the last home match for legendary left back Cristina Neagu in the EHF Champions League Women, CSM Bucuresti came back from a three-goal deficit to hold on to a narrow 30:29 win in the first leg of the quarter-final against Team Esbjerg.

Neagu, the all-time top scorer in the competition, scored seven times to bring her career tally to 1,228 goals and was named Player of the Match.

QUARTER-FINALS, FIRST LEG

MOTW: CSM Bucuresti (ROU) vs Team Esbjerg (DEN) 30:29 (13:15)

a 10:3 run for CSM turned the match on its head, as Esbjerg’s three goal lead turned into a three-goal lead for the Romanian champions at 25:21 in the 48th minute
CSM secured their eighth consecutive win, the largest such streak in their 10 seasons in the European premium competition
CSM snapped a six-match winless streak against Esbjerg, following four losses and two draws; the Romanian side’s last win came in February 2021 on their home court
the top scorer of this season, Esbjerg’s Henny Reistad, scored 12 goals, improving her overall tally to 134 goals this season. This was her eighth match scoring at least 10 times
the second leg of the double-header will take place next Sunday in Denmark, with Esbjerg aiming to secure their fourth consecutive EHF FINAL4 Women berth

Easter derby produces lots of drama

For the third time in four years, CSM Bucuresti’s path towards the EHF FINAL4 seemed to have hit a rock in Team Esbjerg. It was an emotional Easter afternoon in the Romanian capital, as Cristina Neagu, who had previously announced her retirement at the end of the season, played her last home match in the EHF Champions League Women.

In the eighth minute, all the spectators raised signs celebrating her stunning career. But Neagu scored only five goals from 10 shots in the first half, as the MVP of the Women’s EHF EURO 2024, Anna Kristensen, made 10 saves for a 45 per cent saving efficiency. That enabled Esbjerg to take a two-goal lead, 15:13, on the back of seven goals from nine shots by Reistad.

But CSM still had something in their tank and delivered their best half of the season. A 10:3 run between the 37th and the 48th minutes helped them turn the match on its head. Line player Crina Pintea was particularly effective and finished the game with 10 goals, but CSM’s defence was also outstanding in this period.

Yet everything will be decided next week in the second leg in Denmark. Esbjerg need to bounce back on a court where they have lost only three matches from the last 23 played in the Champions League – and that means CSM’s celebrations on Sunday were muted.

I tried to focus on other things than to think about the fact that I just played the last home game in the Champions League. Last week I injured my ankle and unfortunately or not, I had to focus on that rather than think about the last game. In the first half we thought it was going to be very difficult and we could lose by many goals but in the second half we came back, defended better and managed to win.

Cristina Neagu

Left back, CSM Bucuresti

It was an amazing game. I think it was better than we expected. You could see in this game how different situations can be especially from the difference from one half to another. We are happy that it ended by one goal. I need to say to Cristina how inspiring she was to me, I think she is the best shooter in the sport.

Henny Reistad

Centre back, Team Esbjerg