The Romanian side were trailing from the first minute and could not shift the momentum, but everything changed in the last 10 minutes of the game. They took over the lead one minute before the buzzer and pushed us to a penalties drama. The hero of the night for the French side was goalkeeper Floriane Andre who stopped the last of Braila's penalty shot.
3/4 PLACEMENT MATCH
HC Dunarea Braila (ROU) vs Neptunes Nantes (FRA) 38:39 (33:33, 14:18)
- Nervous attacks and mistakes followed Braila in this game - they were down by five after seven goalless minutes
- Helle Thomsen's team also built that early lead with the extra attacking player, but they couldn't break the six-goal lead margin
- Braila's good work with the line player Onacia Ondono and a few saves by Elena Serban saw them closing the gap by halftime
- Marie Hรฉlรจne Sajka entered the court in the second half and helped build a 3:0 unanswered run, which proved to be crucial for the end result and win
- Braila found the recipe for Nantes' attack in the late part of the second half and with strong defensive skills changed the outcome by leveling in the 56th minute, with the help of Mireya Gonzalez and taking the lead three minutes later
- Respect Your Talent alumni Lรฉna Grandveau saved Nantes and secured the penalties
- in the penalty shoot-out Nantes were the lucky side, celebrating the bronze medal in Graz after Floriane Andre stopped Jelena Zivkovic's attempt
Farewell medalย
Neptunes Nantes were the first team to raise the EHF European League Women trophy in the 2020/21 season and have since been dreaming of repeating this success. Unfortunately, Storhamar Handball Elite crushed their dream, but Nantes were determined to end the season on a high, with a medal around their necks.
Head coach Helle Thomsen and eight players are leaving the club at the end of the season and they wanted to have a shiny memory of their time together. The bronze medal will be a nice touch, even though it did not come easily. They had to go beyond the regular 60 minutes and sweat while trying to have a steady hand and mind from the seven-meter line. Altogether, it was about teamwork, as 12 out of 13 field players scored at least once and both goalkeepers were up for the task in crucial moments, with Floriane Andre saving the most important penalty of the season. Nice work from the goalkeeper, one of the few Nantes players who were part of the French side that won the inaugural EHF Finals Women three years ago and also one of the eight players leaving.
Nantes deserved this medal. We did too, but Nantes showed they are a strong team and one of the best in this competition. I can't say anything bad today. We gave everything we had. There were some problems at the start and we were behind. But we are not a losing team and we were fighting and made a comeback. I have big respect for my team and for my girls.
Thanks to Braila for one crazy game. We won it after the penalties and it is all about luck. We must remember we had 19 hours to recover, had a tough evening and morning but it just shows how the players are stong. The same goes for Braila. If I look at our whole season, it had its ups and downs, but I think we deserved this medal after all.
