We had previously secured a place in the EHF FINAL4 in Metz once, and travelled to France with the same ambition this time. The draw in the first leg showed that even without two key players, Darja Dmitrijeva and Orlane Kanor, we were capable of performing at a very high level. Still, an even tougher challenge awaited on Saturday evening. Around fifty of our fans made the trip — up against nearly four thousand home supporters — but their presence and support still gave us much power.

After a slow start in the first leg, Jesper Jensen had asked for full intensity from the opening minutes this time, but the early stages again fell short of expectations. We had prepared for Metz’s fast breaks during the week, yet still conceded too many goals from them. It didn’t help that we were already down to a player twice within the first ten minutes. Offensively, however, we stayed in the game, with Petra Simon and Emily Vogel leading the way as we kept pace until 6–6.

Whenever we made a mistake, Metz punished it immediately. A missed penalty and a failed attack quickly turned into a three-goal deficit (9–6). Gréta Márton scored at a crucial moment, Malestein converted from the 7m line, and our resilience showed again as we levelled at 11–11 in the 20th minute. Metz controlled the tempo for most of the half, but we remained competitive — until a difficult spell late on. Ingstad and Cvijics both received suspensions in quick succession, our momentum stalled, and Bundsen produced a series of saves, particularly against our wings. We could not compensate defensively, and by halftime we were in serious trouble (18–12). Our defence struggled throughout, and the 1:5 suspension ratio only made things harder.

We had thirty minutes left to turn things around — and the team came out determined to do just that. Blanka Böde-Bíró’s saves provided the foundation, while we finally managed to score from fast breaks. We quickly reduced the deficit by three, and Emily Vogel brought us within two at 20–18 in the 39th minute.

However, Metz once again capitalised on a numerical advantage, scoring three straight goals (25–20). We threw everything into the comeback effort. At 25–22, we had three chances to close the gap to two, but the hosts managed to pull away again. The difference hovered between three and four goals as we entered the final ten minutes.

Petra Simon led by example with an outstanding performance, scoring her tenth goal to bring us back within two (27–25). The final phase became a real battle, but near-perfect execution was required. Metz attacked seven-on-six effectively, and although we responded, key moments went against us — including a missed empty-net opportunity by Vogel.

Bouktit then scored a crucial goal, and despite our continued push, Metz managed the clock well and secured a 31–28 victory.

This means a three-goal defeat on aggregate, and our women’s handball team falls short of the semi-finals. The focus now shifts to the remainder of the season, including the defence of our Hungarian Cup title.

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