Ikast and Bietigheim clash in MOTW for quarter-final spot

Ikast (2023) and Bietigheim (2022) are the two most recent winners of the EHF European League Women – but now they are on the brink of the quarter-finals in Europe’s top-flight competition.

Their play-off tie opened in Germany last weekend when Bietigheim took a close 29:27 win after turning around a three-goal deficit (20:17) in the last 20 minutes, with Xenia Smits (eight goals) and Ingvild Bakkerud (seven) the respective leading scorers.

That result leaves all to play for when the teams meet again in Denmark for the Match of the Week on Sunday at 14:00 CET.

All MOTW games are streamed live on EHFTV (geo-restrictions apply) and receive extensive coverage across all EHF Champions League social media channels and on the eurohandball.com live blog.

The MOTW marks the fifth encounter between the two sides, with Bietigheim holding a slight advantage with two wins compared to Ikast’s one.

Three of their four previous matches were really close – with one draw, plus a one-goal and a two-goal win. The only comprehensive victory was Ikast’s 33:25 from their meeting in the former EHF Cup in 2020.

Their joined history includes the spectacular semi-final of the EHF Finals Women 2022, when Bietigheim came out victorious 34:33 thanks to a Karolina Kudlacz-Gloc goal two seconds from the final buzzer.

This season, Ikast have been beaten just once on home court – by fellow Danish side Team Esbjerg. Bietigheim lost four of their seven away games in the group phase, including the one in Denmark against Odense – the opponents in the quarter-finals for the team coming through this play-off tie.

MOTW for EHF Champions League Women play-offs leg 2:

Ikast Handbold vs SG BBM Bietigheim – first leg: 27:29
Sunday 24 March, 14:00 CET, live on EHFTV

photos © 2024 Marco Wolf