On the back of an outstanding performance from Player of the Match, Djurdjina Jaukovic, who scored 12 goals, and goalkeeper Cleopatre Darleux, who saved 21 shots, Brest Bretagne Handball clinched their first win of the season, 21:20, against FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria.
GROUP A
MOTW: FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA) 20:21 (9:12)
- goalkeeper Cléopatre Darleux started the game with three saves in a row; Brest took advantage and took a 4:0 lead after only five minutes, with left back Djurdjina Jaukovic scoring three goals
- FTC mounted a strong comeback, using a 4:0 run to cut the gap to a single goal late in the first half
- Brest were relying only on Jaukovic, who scored eight of her team’s 12 goals in the first 30 minutes, and only Itana Grbic and Coralie Lassource added goals for the French side in that timespan
- Jaukovic finished the game with 12 goals, the second time she scored in double figures in her career in the European premium competition – she also put 12 goals past Brest, when she was playing for Buducnost
- the last time FTC started the season with two losses in the first three rounds was three years ago, when the Hungarian side failed to make the knockout phase of the EHF Champions League Women
- Brest secured their first win of the season, ensuring that they have never started the competition with a three-loss streak
Brest seal outstanding win
Brest cruised to a 4:0 run to start the Match of the Week against FTC and it was increasingly looking like the pressure was going to be on the Hungarian team’s shoulders. FTC conceded their largest-ever loss in the history of the EHF Champions League Women against Bietigheim last week, 20:40.
Slowly, but surely, FTC got on the ground and first cut the gap to a single goal, then tied the game late in the second half, with two goals from Angela Malestein. But Brest still scored the winning goal through Jaukovic, who was deservedly named the Player of the Match of the Week.
However, the French side could not have done it without the superb contribution of goalkeeper Cléopatre Darleux, who saved 21 shots. The win is crucial for Brest’s season, particularly because last year the French side had only two away wins throughout the whole competition.
With their first win of the season, Brest can now bounce back. They will still have to analyse the match, as Jaukovic’s dominating performance overshadowed the fact that Brest had only five scorers in the game, with the Montenegrin connection between Jaukovic and Itana Grbic scoring 16 of 21 goals, or 76 per cent of Brest’s goals.
