A shorthanded Team Esbjerg left no stone unturned with a strong display in the second half of their group A match in the DELO EHF Champions League against Buducnost BEMAX.
After recording a convincing 36:25 victory against their Montenegrin opponents, the Danish side are through to the quarter-finals of the competition.
GROUP A
Buducnost BEMAX (MNE) vs Team Esbjerg (DEN) 25:36 (13:14)
- despite missing key players like back Estavana Polman and line players Marit Malm Frafjord and Vilde Ingstad, Esbjerg clinched their eighth win in a row
- Buducnost set a club record for losing the most games in a DELO EHF Champions League season — 11 — in their 25 participations
- Esbjerg line player Kaja Kamp Nielsen had her best outing in a European club competition, scoring eight goals
- Esbjerg have sealed first place in the group and home advantage in the second leg of the quarter-finals
- the Danish side had their second best outing in terms of goals scored in a game in Europe's top competition, only one goal shy of the club record set in February 2021 against SG BBM Bietigheim
Records pile up in superb season for Esbjerg
For 30 minutes, Buducnost remained competitive against Esbjerg, who were eyeing their second appearance in the quarter-finals of the DELO EHF Champions League. But in Kaja Kamp Nielsen and Marit Røsberg Jacobsen, who combined for 15 goals, the Danish side had a superb pair of safe hands in the second half, when Esbjerg scored 22 times.
It was another dominating win for the Danish side, who have outscored their opponents by an average margin of eight goals in four games played in 2022. Esbjerg will now head to the quarter-finals, but they have already secured their best season in Europe's premier competition, recording 10 wins, after previously winning 17 games in three seasons.
We prepared well in the last two weeks and played well in the first 30 minutes while there was strength, energy and focus in our game. In the second half, we made many technical mistakes and allowed the opponent to score easy goals.
I am proud of my players. We are a young club and with this victory we have secured the first place in the group, and it is a great success. That result gained significance when it is known that we achieved it against a great European club such as Buducnost, which is now led by legends such as Bojana Popovic and Maja Savic.
