CSM end Esbjerg's unbeaten run, Buducnost claim first win
The EHF Champions League Women 2026/27 round 5 concluded with an exciting Sunday featuring six matches, as Gloria Bistrita and Odense Håndbold finished the day as the only two teams with away wins. OTP Group Buducnost and Sola Håndballklubb went neck-and-neck in a thrilling encounter, but the Montenegrin side held on to end their winless run.
Odense cruised to a convincing victory against HSG Blomberg-Lippe in Germany, bouncing back from their round 4 defeat, while Gloria overcame Nykøbing Falster Håndbold. CSM Bucuresti handed Team Esbjerg their first loss of the season in a close battle, BV Borussia Dortmund extended their winning streak to three after playing against RK Krim OTP Group Mercator and Storhamar Håndball Elite celebrated a convincing home win over HC Podravka.
It seems that we like playing dramatic games. But perhaps victories like these are even sweeter and more memorable. The pressure on the players was evident, especially at the beginning and towards the end of the match. I cannot fault them for anything, because we worked hard throughout the week and analysed Sola thoroughly. We had 27 defensive fouls, which is one aspect of our game that I am pleased with. We experienced a dip in the second half, with our finishing being the biggest problem.
We played better in the second half than we did in the first. It was a tough match. We need to run more — that is my main takeaway from this game. We had a chance to earn a draw, but Buducnost’s goalkeeper was excellent.
Those were big points for us to pick up here today. We’re right on track in the Champions League — that’s awesome! The team played outstandingly and was in control from the start. Defensively, we were still a little too hesitant in the first half. We addressed that at half-time and said we’d win the game through our defence. Our fast-break game was really good at times, too. I do think we can push that even harder. But when it really mattered, we did just that.
Today, we cannot be satisfied with the way we performed here in Dortmund. It was below our level. Of course, BVB are good at what they do, and they kept doing those things. We failed to stop them, which is very disappointing and unacceptable. We have to look in the mirror and figure out what we can improve.
The atmosphere was wonderful. I’m happy my dad is here and that he got to experience the atmosphere at CSM too. It was an intense match, and I’m happy we fought until the end. Last week, we had a similar match that could have gone either way.
It was a tough match. It’s difficult to play CSM on their home court, and they were hungry for points. It’s always tough to play in Bucharest. We started well, but CSM capitalised on our mistakes. In the second half, we closed the gap to one goal. We need to be more clinical and defend better. Overall, we fought well.
Odense were the better team today and performed several levels above us. We missed the target with too many shots, and against such a strong opponent as Odense, that really hurts.
After the difficult last few days, this was a fantastic win for my team. The team put in a great overall performance today, and we’re very happy with that.
We are really happy about the result of this game, it’s really important that we win by eight goals, because the away game against Podravka will be a really tough game.
We are not happy about this game, we have a lot of technical fouls and small mistakes, especially during the second half.
I think we delivered a really, really good performance. I’m very pleased with our attacking play. We played with a lot of variation, and when we score that many goals, I can’t be dissatisfied. We are well aware that we were challenged defensively. We simply lost too many one-on-one duels. The positive thing is that we identified what we were missing. We need to give 100 per cent and be able to look ourselves in the eye afterwards. And that was really the most important thing.
I’m just happy that we won today. I think it was a tough game. Nykøbing never gave up, but fortunately we managed to create a bit of a gap in the first half and carry that advantage into the second half. The atmosphere was really nice. There were a lot of people in yellow, and I think this is a very good arena. The fans really get behind their team, so it was difficult to play here. But of course, I’m very happy that we are taking the two points home.
