SUMMARY: Ikast make history at EHF Finals Women

• finals day at the EHF Finals Women
• Ikast Handbold beat Nykøbing Falster Håndbold 31:24 to take the trophy
• BV Borussia 09 Dortmund win bronze with a 28:23 victory over Thüringer 
• read the final day previews here, find out how to follow the weekend's action or join the fan zone party
• watch the matches live on EHFTV (geo-restrictions may apply)
• photos copyright Kolektiff Images

Sunday 14 May

21:30

And that's all from Graz. We hope you enjoyed the handball and the coverage. Next up in two weeks' time is the EHF Finals Men 2023 from Flensburg! See you there.

20:22

A wonderful, joy-filled video from Ikast.

20:52

Outside Ikast's fans are singing and, we think, may keep singing for quite some time.

Enjoy the highlights of the final on YouTube - you can also find the rest of the weekend's matches there too.

20:12

Although Ikast are still celebrating, we did manage to grab Julie Scaglione - and Mia Svele - for a quick chat.

20:00

Time for our final press conference - watch here:

19:52

Lots of celebration and dancing on court as Ikast salute their loyal fans, who travelled so far to support them in the title hunt.

19:48

As Ikast go up to collect the trophy, read our match review of that excellent final between two great Danish teams.

19:45

Ikast left wing Emma Friis is named MVP of the EHF Finals Women after a highly effective showing throughout the weekend, including 11 goals tonight.

19:39

Ikast celebrate with their fans while the court is prepared for the medal presentation.

The result confirms Thüringer's Annika Lott as the competition's top scorer, with 68 goals - eight more than Nykøbing's Elma Halilcevic.

19:33 | FULL-TIME

NYKØBING FALSTER HÅNDBOLD 24:31 IKAST HANDBOLD

Such a strong second half from Ikast: once they had drawn level they never let up and in the end took a big win on their third appearance at the EHF Finals Women. After winning last year's placement match, they have won 11 European League games in a row and have drawn their unbeaten season to a deserving conclusion.

Nykøbing look drained. They gave that everything and should definitely go away with heads high after a brilliant debut in the competition.

19:27

Ikast have a 30:23 lead and three minutes to go - the title is all but in their hands.

19:22

Emma Friis steps up for another penalty and Ikast have a 27:21 lead with eight minutes to go. They're now playing with supreme confidence in attack and defence, although Nykøbing continue to fight hard. 

19:14

Is this it? We're halfway through the second half and Ikast now lead 24:20. Emma Friis has scored 10 goals - including six seven-metre penalties - and with Jessica Ryde being more effective in goal, Nykøbing are struggling to find the net.

19:06

Ikast steal the ball and seek to score into the empty net as Nykøbing play seven-on-six, but it just misses, and they lose an opportunity to go two goals up. But their opponents fail to score again, and Ikast have another chance which Emma Friis seizes. It's 21:19 to Ikast - are the three-time EHF Finals participants finally on their way to the trophy?

Timeout for Nykøbing.

19:01

What a treat to see two teams playing on such an equal level. Nykøbing's energy levels seem to be holding up well, although they're perhaps starting to make a few errors as Ikast look more comfortable.

18:57

After just under four minutes of the half the score is level at 17:17. 

18:53

The second half has thrown off!

18:43 | HALF-TIME

NYKØBING FALSTER HÅNDBOLD 15:14 IKAST HANDBOLD

Nykøbing will probably be feeling a bit frustrated they let a four or five-goal lead slip from their hands. Jessica Ryde's return to form at the end of the half, and more aggression in attack, made a difference for Ikast. More from Danijela Vekić.

18:36

Jessica Ryde is back in goal after four misses by Andrea Austmo - and she makes a save, allowing Ikast the opportunity to attack for a one-goal margin. Cecilie Greve saves Stine Skogrand's first effort but Emma Friis nets on the rebound. Ikast are fighting back hard now.

18:33

Ikast have found a bit of a way through and have closed up to two goals (12:14). From a bit earlier, watch this.

18:26

Nykøbing continue to lead by four goals (11:7), but as we move into the 20th minute it's timeout time for the women in yellow. Jakob Larsen wastes no time and his players are back in position well before the minute is over, while Ikast are still talking.

18:21

Jessica Ryde is off and Andrea Austmo comes on in goal for Ikast. What can she do?

18:20

Ikast coach Kasper Christensen calls his first timeout as Nykøbing go 9:5 up. Jessica Ryde hasn't saved anything yet and that's not helping Ikast on Nykøbing's attacks at all.

18:15

When Ikast do get to run, they're doing things like this. But they're not getting to run much and Nykøbing are leading 6:3.

18:12

Nykøbing are defending extremely well. After preventing Ikast from scoring Nikita van der Vliet wastes no time on netting on the counter-attack - it's 5:3 to the debutantes.

18:07

Five minutes in and Nykøbing lead 2:1 - a good start for them. So far Jessica Ryde hasn't made a save.

18:02

Throw-off!

17:55

It's all come down to this - which Danish team will be European League champions?

17:42

Warm-up is finishing and the final is now very close.

We have two strongly Scandinavian sides on court now, and we're expecting a fast match. The question is how well Nykøbing have recovered from their battle with Dortmund yesterday.

17:36

Some quotes from the players after that game. We're only 25 minutes away from the final!

17:13

Watch the press conference here.

17:07

The teams are presented with their medals.

An update on the race for top scorer: Annika Lott ended with 68 goals. Elma Halilcevic needs 12 goals to match that, which is a big ask (though not impossible).

17:01

BV BORUSSIA 09 DORTMUND 28:23 THÜRINGER HC

Steered by a magnificent display from Yara ten Holte, who ends with 24 saves (53.3 per cent!), Dortmund take the win and third place in the EHF European League Women 2022/23.

It was a great show from Thüringer, who attacked well, but when you face a goalkeeper like that, what can you do?

16:58

Dortmund are closing in on a win - 27:21 with 90 seconds to go.

16:48

Yara ten Holte is up to 22 saves from 40 shots and there's still 10 minutes left of the game. It's just an insane performance and she's showing why she is a finalist for the EHF Excellence Awards. Thüringer have made more attempts on goal than Dortmund but so few shots are going in.

It's 23:20 to Dortmund.

16:42

Lisa Antl falls awkwardly and is helped off court so the team physio can look at her knee. She's been important for Dortmund today, they won't want to lose her.

The score is 20:18 - Thüringer are fighting back again.

16:34

Dortmund regain the four-goal lead they held previously.

The goalkeeping in this game is off the charts - 17 saves (54.8 per cent) for Yara ten Holte, six saves (31.6 per cent) for Nicole Roth. Irma Schjött is now on for Thüringer, and is playing well too.

16:25

The game restarts with a long attack for Dortmund which finally ends with a nine-metre shot from Dana Bleckmann.

16:15 | HALF-TIME

BV BORUSSIA 09 DORTMUND 12:10 THÜRINGER HC

With Sara Garovic serving a suspension Thüringer took advantage and closed the gap on Dortmund to 10:12. Dortmund coach Henk Groener called a timeout as the clock ticked to 29 minutes, but Nicole Roth made a good save and the scoreline is unchanged going into the break. Danijela Vekić has more ...

16:03

Thüringer finally get a shot past Yara ten Holte but Dortmund respond instantly as Lisa Antl scores a quick goal, and the women in yellow lead 12:8. 

15:56

This is Yara ten Holte's last European match for Dortmund and what a game she's having, with nine saves (56.3 per cent) and an empty net goal already!

Dortmund have signed fellow Dutch player Tess Lieder (née Wester) to replace ten Holte, and she has some big shoes to step into.

15:52

Thüringer showed a good response to that deficit and are back to 5:6. But a string of saves and misses by both teams means nobody has scored for well over three minutes, and both sides have players suspended.

15:45

Dortmund take a 6:3 lead - three Anna-Lena Hausheer penalties, two goals by Haruno Sasaki and one from Dana Bleckmann - so Thüringer call a timeout. Yara ten Holte is already on six saves, inside 11 minutes.

15:40

The combination of Sonja Frey, Annika Lott and Vilma Matthijs in the Thüringer attack is proving pretty effective against the Dortmund defence; Thüringer's defence is also excellent and making things hard work for Dortmund when in possession. But Dortmund lead 4:3 thanks to several penalties and Yara ten Holte's saves.

15:35

Early in the game Thüringer concede a penalty and Anna-Lena Hausheer sends a lovely soft lob over Nicole Roth's head to give Dortmund a 2:1 lead.

15:25

Ready for some handball? The fans are ready with their drums, and the teams are being introduced ... here we go!

15:11

A quick recap of today's schedule:

• 15:30 CEST: Dortmund vs Thüringer 
• at the end of the match the winners will receive their third-place medals
• 18:00 CEST: Nykøbing vs Ikast
• after the match, the winners' ceremony and the awarding of the Most Valuable Player and top scorer awards

Annika Lott of Thüringer (61 goals) and Elma Halilcevic of Nykøbing (56 goals) are in the running for top scorer - we'll keep you updated on how that competition goes!

14:44

Although the placement match is between two German teams both have a number of non-German players in their squads.

Dortmund's line-up includes their Dutch goalkeeper Yara ten Holte and her countrywomen Zöe Sprengers and Harma van Kreij, as well as Swede Emma Olsson, Norwegian Frida Rønning, and Serb Sara Garovic.

Thüringer also have a Dutch player, Nathalie Hendrikse, three Austrians, two Norwegians and two Swedes, Dane Nikoline Lundgreen and Italian Anika Niederwieser, plus Slovakia's Lydia Jakubisova.

But perhaps most interestingly, the two sides each have a Japanese player on their squads. Dortmund's Haruno Sasaki and Thüringer's Yuki Tanabe spoke to EHF journalist Adrian Costeiu earlier this year about their experiences in Europe, and it's well worth revisiting that piece now.

14:23

The first players are arriving on court to warm up for the placement match, while outside their fans are gathering. There's a good buzz about the Raiffesen Sportpark today!

14:00

Nykøbing and Ikast are also familiar foes. They've played four times in previous European competitions, drawing twice and Ikast winning twice.

In the domestic league, the two have played 21 games: Nykøbing winning six, Ikast 14, and with one draw. However, half of Nykøbing's wins have come in the past three years.

The last encounter was at the end of January 2023, when Ikast won by a single goal. The biggest margin was in 2014 when Ikast beat Nykøbing in Nykøbing by 13 goals. 

The two teams have been high scoring throughout this year's competition, with Nykøbing scoring 404 goals since the start of qualification (13 matches) at an efficiency rate of 67.1 per cent. Ikast have netted 281 goals in nine games at 64.3 per cent. 

13:01

Let's have a look at the head-to-head stats for the two matches, beginning with the placement match. 

Although Dortmund and Thüringer have never played each other in European competition, they have previously met several times in the Bundesliga. Their last meeting was in January in Dortmund, when Dortmund came back from four goals down at the break to draw 30:30.

Across 20 games since 2008, Dortmund have won seven, Thüringer nine, and there have been four draws. Dortmund have however had more success recently, winning five games in a row between September 2019 and February 2022. 

While most of their games have been close affairs, Thüringer did inflict a 38:27 defeat on Dortmund in May 2022, the biggest margin to date. 

This season in the European League Dortmund have had a better defence, but Thüringer a better attack. It could be an interesting game. 

12:32

We're at the arena and ready for it to fill up with fans. The placement match throws off in three hours!

11:50

Our photographers were hard at work yesterday and Ikast picked their favourite pictures from their semi-final win - check out the gallery here.

The arena is calling us, and we'll be back soon with more updates from the Raiffeisen Sportpark!

11:30

Losing a semi-final is tough and bouncing back to try and win the bronze-medal match can sometimes be harder. But Thüringer right back Jennifer Rode put a philosophical front on when considering the team's achievements this season, and she's looking forward to playing against her old team, Dortmund, in this afternoon's placement match. Read more! 

11:15

It's worth heading over to Nykøbing's Facebook page for the series of videos they posted last night - including interviews with coach Jakob Larsen and players Cecilie Greve and Nikita van der Vliet (in Danish) and Dortmund coach Henk Groener (in English). But this one might be our favourite. If they win tonight, what will the atmosphere be like then?

10:40

Meet finalists Marie Hélène Sajka and Elma Halilcevic - who's the best cook? Who's the craziest? And are they here because of talent or luck?

10:23

Who do you think will win the final? Will it be Nykøbing, still riding high on last night's triumph? Or will Ikast make good on the promise they've shown not just this year but in the past two years, and take the title at last? Vote now!

10:00

Welcome to the finals day live blog for the EHF European League Women 2022/23. At the EHF Finals in Graz, the winners will lift the trophy later on today at the end of a fantastic season in the second-tier club competition. 

We know those winners will be a Danish club, with competition newcomers Nykøbing Falster Håndbold up against Ikast Handbold at 18:00 CEST after earning their place in dramatic fashion with yesterday's penalty shootout win over BV Borussia 09 Dortmund.

That result also means the placement match at 15:30 CEST will be another national derby, pitting Dortmund against Thüringer HC. Lots to look forward to - stay with us throughout the day for news, clips, photos and more!

Start with the final preview for the key facts about the day's games.