The reaction, but not the medal. During the small final of the Champions League, Metz Handball had a much better match than the day before, in the semi-final against Bietigheim, but lost 37-33 against the Danes of Esbjerg, victim of extraordinary performances opposing stars, Henny Reistad (13 goals) and Nora Mork (12 goals).
Reistad carried Esbjerg
“We messed up, I’m sorry”. Invited, just before the match, to look back on the defeat of the day before on the giant screens of the MVM Dome in Budapest, Metz coach Manu Mayonnade undoubtedly appreciated the reaction of his team during the first half of this small final.
The alternation to the center-half position bore fruit. Alina Grijseels displayed a level unfortunately too rarely seen this season (7/8) and Kristina Jorgensen, whom the German often replaced in the offensive phase, seemed to gradually recover from her missed semi-final (4/4). Overall, all the Messines seemed to react compared to the day before, despite the disappointment, with the possible exception of Louise Vinter-Burgaard who was more in difficulty (1/4).
The problem is that Metz came across a absolutely huge performance from Henny Reistad. The Esbjerg star scored 10 of Esbjerg’s 18 goals, and took 12 of 25 shots, in the first 30 minutes. And when it wasn’t her, the other star, Nora Mork, took over to score from 7 meters (3/3). The parity score (18-18) was logical.
Mork at 9/9 at 7 meters!
The main problem of this final four 2024 will have been defensive. The spaces that Metz never managed to close the day before against Bietigheim, and the stars of Esbjerg that the Lorraines were unable to stop this Sunday. Nora Mork did very badly by converting six new throws from seven meters without missing any, whether against Hatadou Sako or Camille Sinceet. 100% success on 9 penalties, another performance rarely seen in a match with such high stakes.
Certain penalties awarded can remain in the crosshairs, such as losing during this small final (XX) and returning without a medal.
