Rail Cargo Hungaria (FTC) moved one step closer to advancing to the quarterfinals of the EHF Women’s Handball Champions League after defeating CSM Bucuresti (Romania).
Rail Cargo Hungaria defeated CSM Bucharest 31-28 in the 8th round match of Group A of the 2024/25 EHF Women’s Handball Champions League held at the Erd Arena in Erd, Hungary on the 17th (local time).
With this win, Rail Cargo Hungaria maintained 2nd place in Group A with 7 wins and 1 loss (14 points) for the season, and continued to compete for the lead by 1 point from 1st place Metz Handball.
news/cms/202411/20/news-p.v1.20241120.ad60e63803c44b87a567394c187e7382_R.jpg" data-width="600" data-height="400" /> Enlarged photo 2024/25 EHF Women’s Handball Champions League match between Rail Cargo Hungaria and CSM Bucharest, photo source = European Handball Federation
On the other hand, CSM Bucharest recorded 3 consecutive losses with this loss and was relegated to 4th place in Group A with 4 wins and 4 losses (8 points). This is the result of being tied with Crimea Mercator Ljubljana but behind in goal difference.
Rail Cargo Hungaria is expected to secure a direct ticket to the quarterfinals if it maintains stable performance in the remaining six group stage games. The 1st and 2nd place teams in the group advance directly to the quarterfinals, and Rail Cargo Hungaria is currently in an advantageous position with a 6-point gap over 3rd place Crimea Mercator Ljubljana.
The game started with a tight battle. Rail Cargo Hungaria had an early 2-3 goal lead, but allowed CSM Bucharest to tie after 11 minutes. Afterwards, CSM Bucharest’s Elizabeth Omoregie led the team with six goals in the first half alone, and CSM Bucharest took the lead at 12-10 around the 20th minute. However, Rail Cargo Hungaria immediately counterattacked, and the first half ended with CSM Bucharest leading by one goal, 17-18.
The second half was also intense. CSM Bucharest repeatedly took a two-goal lead but caught up, but Rail Cargo Hungaria showed decisive power in the final minutes of the game and took the victory. CSM Bucharest failed to add a single goal in the final six minutes after Cristina Neagu’s goal in the 54th minute, while Rail Cargo Hungaria scored three goals in a row to finish 31-28.
Rail Cargo Hungaria’s Daria Dmitrieva and Clujber Katrin led the team’s attack with six goals each, and the two goalkeepers led a stable defense with a total of 15 saves.
At the heart of CSM Bucharest were Cristina Neagu and Elisabeth Omoregui. Neagu returned to European competition after a month and worked hard, scoring 8 goals, while Omoregi scored 10 goals in this match, breaking his personal record for most goals in the EHF Champions League. However, their performance was not enough to prevent the team from losing.
“It feels really good to win such an important match,” Rail Cargo Hungarian coach Allan Heine Pedersen told the European Handball Federation (EHF). “We played at a high level throughout the game, and the players did their part at every crucial moment,” he said.
[김용필 MK스포츠 기자]
Discuss any standout performances that contributed to Rail Cargo Hungaria’s victory?
Editor: Hello and welcome to our interview segment on world-today-news.com. Today we have two guests with us, Jana Furzmannova, a sports journalist at Sport.sk and Eszter Ogbunyi, a handball expert from Hungary. Our topic for today is the recent victory of Rail Cargo Hungaria in the 8th round match of Group A of the 2024/25 EHF Women’s Handball Champions League against CSM Bucuresti. First, could you introduce yourselves briefly to our readers?
Jana Furzmannova: Hi, my name is Jana Furzmannova, I’m a sports journalist at Sport.sk, a Slovakian sports news outlet. I have been covering handball for the past few years and it’s a great pleasure to be here today to discuss this exciting game.
Eszter Ogbunyi: Hello, I’m Eszter Ogbunyi, a handball expert from Hungary. I’ve been following the EHF Women’s Handball Champions League closely and it’s fantastic to be here to share my thoughts on Rail Cargo Hungaria’s victory.
Editor: Great! Let’s dive into the interview. Rail Cargo Hungaria’s victory over CSM Bucuresti was quite significant. What are your thoughts on this match and how did Rail Cargo Hungaria manage to turn the tables in the second half?
Jana Furzmannova: Well, it was certainly a close match. CSM Bucuresti had the lead for most of the first half, but Rail Cargo Hungaria showed great determination and fighting spirit in the second half. They started to score more goals and their defense also tightened up, which resulted in a comeback win. It was a very important victory for them as it keeps them in contention for the quarterfinals.
Eszter Ogbunyi: Yes, I agree. Rail Cargo Hungaria delivered a strong performance in the final minutes of the game, which proved to be the decisive factor. And, as you mentioned, they are now in a good position to qualify for the quarterfinals. Additionally, their goalkeepers played an excellent game, making crucial saves that kept them in the match.
Editor: Moving on to the players, can you
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