Impressive win brings Dinamo-Sinara to the MVM EHF FINAL4

A landslide win for Dinamo-Sinara against HCM Baia Mare, 30:25, saw the Russian champions through to the MVM EHF FINAL4. The hosts easily managed to cancel the two-goal deficit from the first leg, won by Baia Mare, 25:23.

It was a scrappy first-leg win that brought HCM Baia Mare in a favourite position for qualifying for their maiden FINAL4 in Budapest. However, Dinamo-Sinara, who were the leading force in last Saturday’s game, came out firing on all cylinders in the second leg.

Women's EHF Champions League Quarter-final Leg 2:
Dinamo-Sinara (RUS) vs HCM Baia Mare (ROU) 30:25 (18:11)
First leg 23:25, Dinamo win on aggregate 53:50.

A high risk-reward choice by Dinamo’s coach, Viktor Ryabykh, powered Dinamo to a 9:2 lead after the first 15 minutes of the game.

An aggressive defence, that took Baia Mare’s 9m line out of play was the key to this run, as the guests had six turnovers and seven misses in a dreadful span that saw Baia Mare without a goal in 11 minutes.

Surprinsingly, it was also Dinamo’s attack what was on a high note. If Baia Mare expected Dinamo’s back line to excel, it was Croatian wing Anita Gace who surprised with three goals, after the Romanian defence was forced into a checkmate situation by Dinamo’s whirlwind passing.

Therefore, it was no surprise that Baia Mare, who missed three 7m shots in the first half, had to reengineer the first leg’s comeback to obtain safe passage to the MVM EHF FINAL4.

However, the hosts were not fooled twice by the plucky Romanians. The seven-goal deficit from half-time was impossible to erase, after several misses from key players like Abbingh and Do Nascimento, which completed a calamitous game for the guests.

With nine goals, Olga Akopian, Dinamo’s top scorer, could not be stopped by Baia Mare’s defence, as the gap grew to a game-high 11 goals in the 51st minute, 27:16.

In the end, Dinamo won only by a five-goal margin, but with a 53:50 aggregate score, the Russian champions earned their first semifinal berth after 15 years, while Baia Mare will have to wait at least one year for their maiden MVM EHF FINAL4 place.