Dinamo settle for minimal lead over Skjern

EHF / Filip Mishov

23 April 2024, 21:00

Dinamo Bucuresti and Skjern Håndbold left it all to play for next week after their first-leg duel in Bucharest on Tuesday ended in a narrow 28:27 win for the hosts, leaving this EHF European League Men 2023/24 quarter-final tie wide open. Dinamo and Skjern truly delivered as the first leg's outcome wasn't decided until the last two minutes of the second half.

The tall and energetic defence set up by Dinamo coach Xavi Pascual was an unsolvable enigma at the beginning of the game for the visitors' offense, but Mathias Madsen's squad found an answer with his players displaying a very fast attacking play. In the end, Dinamo's squad depth proved crucial in the second half as the Spanish coach fully used his variety of attacking options off the bench to prevail and take a one-goal win.

QUARTER-FINALS, LEG 1

Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU) vs Skjern Håndbold (DEN) 28:27 (14:15)

despite Dinamo's early three-goal lead, the visitors successfully mounted a comeback in the final 10 minutes of the first half
Bergholt brothers Viktor and Emil and Joaquim Nazaré scored three goals each in the first half and they all added two more goals in the second half
Vladimir Cupara made 13 saves (33.33 per cent efficiency) for the hosts, while Skjern's Christoffer Hoffmann Bonde made one save more (14) and had the same, high percentage of save efficiency with both displaying quality performances between the posts
explosive right back Stanislav Kasparek scored five goals for the home side and played a key role in offense for the Red Dogs
Dinamo were trailing until the 50th minute, but once they took over the lead and control of the match, their strong defence and Cupara proved a stumbling block for Skjern
the sold-out arena in Bucharest was bouncing in red and white colours as the passionate and loud Romanian fans created an amazing atmosphere to support their favourites, but they were made to sweat until the final whistle

Today is the assist 😎day in the #ehfel and 𝐌𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐥𝐢 didn't want to miss his chance 😏#elm #allin pic.twitter.com/8bW5JANgOX
— EHF European League (@ehfel_official) April 23, 2024

Lazar Kukic's masterclass key to Dinamo sealing a win

Serbian centre back Lazar Kukic played with the pressure and burden on his shoulders of being Dinamo's only offensive orchestrator as Luka Cindric was missing from the squad. But Kukic displayed an excellent performance, especially in the second half. The 28-year-old's ability to easily switch the tempo of Dinamo's attacks and to come out as a winner of most of the one-on-one situations proved crucial in securing a win. Kukic ended the first leg as the match's top scorer with seven goals from 10 attempts and, additionally, made more than a few assists for his teammates.

I am happy that my team won the game, that was the most important thing. I think that 7-against-6 in attack was good, it brought us a lot of goals. If we were more careful in defence, we could get a victory with a bigger difference. It was a though game, Skjern have some amazing players and they showed us what they can do. Also, we will prepare the next game very well because at this level, every game is like a final.

Xavi Pascual

Head coach, Dinamo Bucuresti

Dinamo played very well today, I'm happy we could get the defeat with only one goal, because we managed to come back from that 4:1 at the start. We even were some goals in front, but the key moments were with Dinamo this evening. I am sure that at home, it will be a different game.

Mathias Madsen

Head coach, Skjern Håndbold