Superb Metz power past hapless Baia Mare

Romanian powerhouse HCM Baia Mare suffered a shock defeat against Metz Handball, 24:34, on Saturday, in which turned out to be the biggest defeat in Baia Mare’s history in the EHF Women’s Champions League. The French champions took the lead in the first minutes and never looked back, winning the game by a ten-goal margin tying the club record for the most lopsided victory. In addition Metz also broke their previous record for most goals scored by two goals.

GROUP D
Metz Handball (FRA) vs HCM Baia Mare (ROU) 34:24 (13:10)

“We have to improve our start of the games, it is a must if we want to achieve our objectives,” was Costica Buceschi’s conclusion, after HCM Baia Mare won the first game of this season against MKS Selgros Lublin.

The Romanian coach urged his players to do better against Metz Handball, but the Romanian champions never took Buceschi’s advice and suffered the biggest defeat in the EHF Champions League, overtaking the last season’s one, against Thüringer HC, 29:36.

Motivated after two consecutive defeats, one in the premier continental competition and the other in the French Championnat, Metz Handball was highly motivated to put those results behind and started the game with a bang.

An effective attack, with a perfect shooter in Ana Gros and a prolific left wing in Paule Baudouin, took Metz to a five-goal lead in the 20th minute, 10:5. However, Baia Mare clawed back and narrowed the French lead to only one goal, 10:9, in six minutes.

But the Romanian champions could not find their rhythm, after being outscored at halftime, 13:10. During the second half the game was as one-sided as one could see in the Women’s EHF Champions League.

In only 20 minutes, Metz extended their lead to 10 goals, while Baia Mare was never to be seen neither in defence, nor in offence. It was by far Baia Mare’s worst performance in the European top flight and something for Buceschi to think about, as Baia Mare will host Larvik in the group’s derby next Friday.