Over the last two weeks, the best teams in European women’s handball were pitted against each other in eight doubleheaders, with the winners earning the tickets to the quarter-finals.

The play-offs of the DELO EHF Champions League delivered intense clashes, interesting comebacks, with some favourites having been knocked out, after failing to rise to the occasion in one game.

The 100% Romanian derby that featured CSM Bucuresti and SCM Ramnicu Valcea saw two totally different games, featuring two away wins. Riding a superb performance from four-time IHF Women’s World Player of the Year Cristina Neagu, CSM took a convincing 33:24 win on Valcea’s court, only to concede a 21:27 loss at home. With 24 goals, Neagu contributed significantly to CSM’s win, as the left back is slowly getting back into form after some injuries.

The 32-year-old left back was the first player to hit 100 goals this season in the DELO EHF Champions League, having been toppled only by Ana Gros, whose seven-goal outing against Esbjerg lifted her back to the top of the scorer ranking, with 104 goals.

Group winners Györi Audi ETO KC and Rostov-Don enjoyed two clear wins each in the play-offs, as reigning champions Györ beat SG BBM Bietigheim 69:48 on aggregate, while Rostov-Don created the second biggest gap in an elimination game ever in the competition – 71:44 against Podravka Vegeta.

In their maiden season in the European premium competition, CSKA Moscow overcame a five-goal deficit of the first game against RK Krim Mercator to take a nail-biting 47:46 aggregate win against the Slovenian side, completing the Russian sweep in the play-offs.

While Brest Bretagne Handball confirmed their great run of form against Team Esbjerg, with a 63:54 aggregate win, fellow French side Metz Handball were awarded two 10:0 wins against BV Borussia 09 Dortmund, after the German side informed the European Handball Federation (EHF) that they will not travel to France.

Considered a favourite, at least on paper, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria failed to compete for a DELO EHF FINAL4 spot once again, as they could not bounce back after a loss in the first game against Buducnost, with the Montenegrin side taking a 50:48 aggregate win.

After a thrilling game in the first leg, which ended with a 36:35 Odense win against Vipers Kristiansand – the highest-scoring game in the round – the Danish side collapsed in the second game, as Vipers’ depleted side turned the game on its head to secure a 65:62 aggregate win and progress to the quarter-finals for the second time in the last three years.

Four crucial clashes are already set in stone for the next phase of the competition, with the first leg being played on 3 and 4 April, and the second leg one week later, on 10 and 11 April.

Riding an unbeaten 53-game streak in the competition, Györ will face Buducnost in a classic clash in the quarter-finals, while Rostov-Don will play against Vipers Kristiansand, a team that they have already beaten in the group phase (24:23).

Another highly interesting clash will definitely send a French team to the DELO EHF FINAL4, as Metz face Brest, while rookies CSKA Moscow face CSM Bucuresti for their first ever showdown in Budapest at the end of May.

DELO EHF Champions League – Play-off results
All results are aggregate scores throughout the two legs

M1: Podravka Vegeta vs Rostov-Don 44:71
M2: BV Borussia 09 Dortmund vs Metz Handball 0:20*
M3: SCM Ramnicu Valcea vs CSM Bucuresti 51:54
M4: Buducnost vs FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria 50:48
M5: Vipers Kristiansand vs Odense Handbold 65:62
M6: Team Esbjerg vs Brest Bretagne Handball 54:63
M7: RK Krim Mercator vs CSKA Moscow 46:47
M8: SG BBM Bietigheim vs Györi Audi ETO KC 48:69

* EHF Court of Handball decision: Metz Handball were awarded two 10:0 wins after Dortmund’s decision not to travel to France

DELO EHF Champions League – Quarter-final schedule

Buducnost vs Györi Audi ETO KC
CSKA Moscow vs CSM Bucuresti
Vipers Kristiansand vs Rostov-Don
Brest Bretagne Handball vs Metz Handball

Photo: Rostov-Don