Danish-German duels ready for EHF Finals throw-off

After the winner of the inaugural EHF Finals back in 2020/21, Les Neptunes de Nantes, were eliminated in the quarter-finals thanks to a spectacular comeback by BV Borussia 09 Dortmund and the second winners SG BBM Bietigheim were on their own EHF Champions League journey, it was clear we will have new winners crowned in Raiffeisen Sportpark in Graz on 14 May.

Ikast Handbold will try to overcome their bad luck at the EHF Finals Women and beat Thüringer. BV Borussia 09 Dortmund hope to transfer their quarter-final magic and stop the team with the best shooting percentage - Nykøbing Falster Håndbold.

SEMI-FINALS

Ikast Handbold (DEN) vs Thüringer HC (GER)

Saturday 13 May, 15:30 CET, live on EHFTV

• Ikast Handbold reached their third EHF Finals in a row after riding an eight-game winning streak since the start of the group phase, making them the only unbeaten team this season; Thüringer suffered only one defeat this season - to Paris 92 in the last game of the group phase
• the two sides met in the EHF Champions League on four occasions - the German club have only one win
• the Danish side qualified for Graz after two convincing wins against Siófok, while Thüringer defeated Sola at home by three after a draw in the first leg
• Ikast are the most successful team of the EHF European League Women, winning 24 out of 28 games in the past three season but only won one game at the EHF Finals out of four played - the third place match in 2021/22
• this is Thüringer biggest success in European competitions - previously they reached the quarter-finals of the EHF Cup, back in 2019/20, and the EHF Champions League quarter-finals in 2014/15
• Annika Lott scored 56 goals for THC and she is in the race for the top scorer award, only four behind Iryna Glibko who is out of the competition; Ikast relies on Jessica Ryde, the competition's top goalkeeper with an astonishing 41 per cent save efficiency (73 saves)

BV Borussia 09 Dortmund (GER) vs Nykøbing Falster Håndbold (DEN)

Saturday 13 May, 15:30 CET, live on EHFTV

• both sides secured their first EHF FINALS by overcoming a deficit from the first leg of the quarter-finals - BVB beat Neptunes de Nantes by ten after losing the first leg 19:28; Nykøbing defeated SCM Ramnicu Valcea 38:29 after losing the first leg by three goals
• this will be the first encounter between the two clubs, ready to write new page in their history books
• the Danish side are one of two teams at the EHF Finals Women that started their 2022/23 European season in the first qualification round in October 2022, alongside Thüringer
• among the four EHF Finals teams BVB have the best defence, conceding only 204 goals this season; Nykøbing have the best shooting percentage at 67.6%
• BVB's previous biggest success in European competition was winning the old Challenge Cup in 2003; The Danes had their best result in the 2016/17 semi-finals of the former EHF Cup
• Nykøbing's counter-attack specialist Elma Halilcevic is on 49 goals this season, hoping to catch the top scorer award; Alina Grijseels and Dana Bleckman lead BVB with 34 and 35 goals respectively