Danish rivals share spoils; Brest, FTC and Bistrita celebrate away wins

• Bistrita threw off their third Champions League season with a win, beating debutants Blomberg-Lippe after sealing the victory in the last 10 minutes

• Tomáš Hlavatý opened his first CL season at the helm of Brest with a win against Sola; Onacia Ondono netted eight for Brest, while Camille Depuiset made 10 saves at 50 per cent in the 30 minutes played

• Elizabeth Omoregie led FTC to victory on her debut for the Hungarian side with seven goals, while goalkeeper Anna Kristensen also shone with 11 saves at a 44 per cent save efficiency

• Nykøbing marked their return to the Champions League after missing the 2025/26 season with a draw against Odense, having lost all four encounters against the same opponents in the domestic league last season

• Clara Lerby was almost unstoppable for Nykøbing, netting 12 times — five of them from the seven-metre line

GROUP A

SOLA HÅNDBALLKLUBB (NOR) VS BREST BRETAGNE HANDBALL (FRA) 25:29 (14:19)

H2H: 0-0-3

Top scorers: Onacia Ondono 8/8 (Brest Bretagne Handball); Malin Holta 6/11 (Sola Håndballklubb)

The 2025 EHF FINAL4 participants Brest had a good start to the new season. Even though Sola tried to keep up for the opening 20 minutes, everything changed in the last 10. Tamara Horacek, who returned to France this summer to join Brest, led the charge early on and was soon joined by Onacia Ondono as Brest pulled away. Sola’s defence was not up to the task and struggled to find a way to stop the French side. Sola came into the second half with more energy and pushed to cut the gap to 25:22 through Camilla Herrem, disrupting Brest’s flow. Good defence and a reliable Camille Depuiset in the second half kept Brest on course for victory, as they eventually won 29:25, with Ondono remaining their top scorer with eight goals from eight attempts.

OTP GROUP BUDUCNOST (MNE) VS FTC-TOYOTA KOVÁCS (HUN) 20:29 (9:15)

H2H: 5-1-12

Top scorers: Elizabeth Omoregie 7/11 (FTC-Toyota Kovács); Jovana Skrobic 6/8 (OTP Group Buducnost)

Buducnost’s struggles were already there ahead of the game, with several names missing from their full squad, and a red card for Ivana Godec did not help their cause. FTC were dominant on both ends of the court, stretching a three-goal lead to six in just six minutes. That gap could have been even wider if not for mistakes in attack, as both defences and goalkeepers performed well, with Anna Kristensen and Blanka Böde-Bíró each recording a 43 per cent save efficiency in the first half.

There was a glimpse of hope for Buducnost at the start of the second half when they narrowed the gap to three, but hasty attacks and mistakes soon saw them trailing by six again, a gap that proved too wide to close. FTC further tightened their defence and by the 50th minute held a nine-goal lead, but were unable to stretch it into double digits. Buducnost tried every tactic they could to narrow the gap, but could not get past Anna Kristensen between the posts.

GROUP B

HSG BLOMBERG-LIPPE (GER) VS GLORIA BISTRITA (ROU) 23:28 (10:13)

H2H: 0-0-1

Top scorers: Danila So Delgado 7/14, Nina Engel 5/10, Helena Paulo 5/7 (Gloria Bistrita); Nieke Kühne 5/11, Farrelle Njinkeu 5/5 (HSG Blomberg-Lippe)

Blomberg-Lippe entered their debut EHF Champions League Women match with plenty of determination and a clear desire to prove themselves in front of their home crowd. Their approach was reflected on the scoreboard as the German side held the lead in the 14th minute, backed by a strong Nicole Roth between the posts, who finished the first half with a 42 per cent save efficiency. After a busy summer on the transfer market, Gloria entered the new season with a significantly changed squad and struggled to find their rhythm. They had to wait almost six minutes for their first goal and only took control in the final 10 minutes of the half, eventually pulling away to a three-goal lead.

Defences on both ends remained strong until the end of the game and the home team kept pushing, not giving Gloria much room to breathe, but their lack of experience and shortened rotation prevented a possible surprise. Gloria never had more than a five-goal lead and eventually sealed the win, led by Danila So Delgado, Nina Engel and Helena Paulo, who netted seven, five and five goals, respectively.

NYKØBING FALSTER HÅNDBOLD (DEN) VS ODENSE HÅNDBOLD (DEN) 27:27 (16:16)

H2H: 0-1-0

Top scorers: Clara Lerby 12/14 (Nykøbing Falster Håndbold); Anna Vyakhireva 6/8 (Odense Håndbold)

The all-Danish duel provided plenty of excitement for handball fans as Nykøbing and Odense clashed for the first time in the EHF Champions League Women. It was a tight game in which Odense held the narrowest of leads until the 20th minute, when Nykøbing made a turnaround for 10:8. The home team used seven-against-six to match Odense’s pace and, even though it backfired on a few occasions, they still managed to go into the break level. Not much changed in the second half as the teams were trading leads, with Odense the only side to hold a two-goal advantage at one point (22:20). Nykøbing soon brought the game back into a deadlock, vying for the win until the end. Both sides had their chances to take the full spoils, but fairly settled for one point each as Anna Vyakhireva and Clara Lerby pulled the strings for their respective sides.