The Romanian women's handball champions Oltchim have narrowly missed out on a place in the Champions League final, despite winning their return leg match against Hungarian team Gyor last night (April 11 ). Oltchim won the match 25 – 24, but the Hungarians carried a 2 point lead from the first leg played in Romania, giving Gyor a 48 – 47 win on aggregate and a place in the final.

“We are very unhappy about the last five or six minutes of the match, as until then we had a perfect chance to make it to the final. But then little things decided – and we are out now,” said the Oltchim coach Jakob Vestergaard. He added that Gyor were now favorites to win the final, whoever their as yet undecided opponents turn out to be.

The Hungarians left it to the dying second to secure their place in the final and there were scenes of jubilation among the Gyor players and fans in the Veszprém Arena, Hungary, after the match.

Meanwhile Gyor coach Ambros Martin said the loss on the night “really does not hurt.” The Romanian team had led throughout the match, ending the first half 14 – 10 in front, which would have been a more than necessary winning margin if it had been maintained. But Gyor found extra inspiration in the last part of the game, closing the gap to just one point and booking themselves a place in the 2013 final. The Gyor coach acknowledged how disappointing the result must have been for Oltchim and praised the quality of the Romanian team.

In the other semi-final Slovenian team RK Krim Mercator will carry a two point lead into the second leg against Norwegian squad Larvik. The return leg will be played tomorrow (April 13 ), with the aggregate winner going on to face Gyor in the final.

editor@romania-insider.com

photo source: cs-oltchim.com