Metz Handball celebrated a comfortable victory against CSM Bucuresti in the first semi-final of the Champions League Final Four at the MVM Dome in Budapest to secure a place in the prestigious tournament for the first time in their history.
Romanian outfit CSM Bucuresti, with Trine Ostergaard, Emma Friis, and Anne Mette Hansen in the squad, missed out on the final as they were defeated by Metz 32-27.
The match was off to a shaky start with Metz and CSM making too many technical errors in the opening 15 minutes, but the French runners-up gradually settled into their stride and went on a decisive three-goal run (9-6), forcing CSM head coach Bojana Popovic to call a team timeout in the 18th minute.
However, Bucuresti throughout the match could not find solutions to Metz’s growing confidence with Léna Grandveau and Lylou Borg adding plenty of creativity in the French attack, and CSM were unable to handle Metz's pace.
With the pressure growing on CSM in the second half, so did the number of Metz's fast breaks, and Chloé Valentini (seven goals) and Lucie Granier (three) punished every one of their mistakes with goals on the other end of the court. The pair finished the match with 10 goals combined and only one missed attempt, but with a historic victory in their hands.