In a thrilling extra time, both sides failed to secure the win and pushed the game into the nerve-breaking penalty shoot-out. In the goalkeeper face-off, even though Yara ten Holte stopped one attempt, Cecilie Greve made BVB's players' hands shake, stopping three for the final against Ikast
SEMI-FINAL
BV Borussia 09 Dortmund (GER) vs Nykøbing Falster Håndbold (DEN) 33:35 (32:32, 29:29, 17:13)
- the game was level in the opening minutes and the teams could not make a break due to a series of mistakes
- the first one to get the more significant lead was BVB after a great performance by Dana Bleckmann and Yara ten Holte
- Nikita Van der Viet and Elma Halilcevic made the difference in 12 minutes of the second half, netting five out of seven goals and closing to 20:22
- BVB's seven minutes without a goal were punished as Nykøbing did not let them breathe for a moment, taking a game into the extra time
- after two five-minute periods it was all tied with both sides having an opportunity to win; BVB lost possession but Halilcevic's fast break was stopped by ten Holte, which meant penalties
- the penalty series went to Nykøbing side after Cecilie Greve made three straight saves
Dream it. Do it
Nykøbing Falster Håndbold have a young squad with most of the Scandinavian players. They started their journey back in October 2022 in the first qualification round and lived through all scares. First, they managed to grab the quarter-final ticket despite two straight defeats at the start of the season, then eliminated SCM Ramnicu Valcea after a first-leg defeat, and finally they made a comeback in the semi-finals.
After trailing by five, Nykøbing put on a more aggressive style of defence and made BVB sweat. After seven minutes without a goal from the German side, Nykøbing took over the lead and made sure we saw a nail-biting finish.
The hero of the night? Goalkeeper Cecilie Greve. She was on a good save efficiency level in the whole season, but her three straight penalty saves made BVB leave the court in tears.
It’s really really fun to play these tight and even games. Of course we would wish it would go the other way around, but we’re playing against a really good team. We’re just happy that we had a good semi-final.
Before the start of the extra time, I said to them just take it easy, and we continue to play seven against six, because we succeeded with that. It was a matter of being calm in the heads. Then cross the fingers and pray a prayer, because it was so intense and equal.
