New signing Ana Gros delivered a signature game as she helped Krim Mercator Ljubljana edge close to the quarter-finals of the EHF Champions League Women with a clear win against FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, 33:26, in the first leg of their play-off tie.
PLAY-OFF, FIRST LEG
MOTW: Krim Mercator Ljubljana (SLO) vs FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) 33:26 (15:14)
- FTC only took the lead two times in the first half, but despite a 3:0 late run for Krim, the hosts only held a one-goal lead at the break, 15:14
- goalkeeper Jovana Risovic had an amazing game for Krim, frustrating FTC with 17 saves and finishing with a 41 per cent save efficiency
- right back Ana Gros, who joined Krim in March after leaving CSKA, proved her mettle with 13 goals in the match
- Krim are poised to secure their progression to the furthest point of the competition since the 2012/13 season, when they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Larvik
- the second leg will be played in Hungary next Saturday, with FTC aiming to bounce back from a huge loss
FTC underwhelm once again
After starting the season with a seven-game unbeaten run in the group phase of the EHF Champions League Women, FTC were aiming to earn their first EHF FINAL4 spot – but their second half of the season has been underwhelming.
On Saturday, in what was their worst game of the season, FTC's attacking efficiency dipped to 48 per cent against Krim. However, CSKA's loss was also Krim's win, and the signing of Ana Gros, who scored 13 times and was named as Player of the Match of the Week, has already proven to be hugely valuable.
The first half was not too bad, even though it was worse than we expected. We had a lot of bad performances on the field. Now we will prepare for the second match at home, but we see that we will have a really hard task there. I feel sorry about the fans that came here to support us, and I am very disappointed.
