Two weeks ago, CSM Bucuresti took a convincing 27:22 win against SCM Ramnicu Valcea in the Romanian league, despite having a depleted side due to injuries and Covid-19 positive cases in the team.

Valcea were looking to avenge that painful loss, but fell short with an attacking efficiency of only 52 per cent attacking efficiency, as CSM took a convincing 33:24 win.

MOTW: SCM Ramnicu Valcea (ROU) vs CSM Bucuresti (ROU) 24:33 (12:13)

• there were four lead changes in the first half, but a CSM surge that saw them deploy a 4:1 run engineered by Cristina Neagu helped the guests take a 13:12 lead at the break
• efficiency was the key word for CSM, who boasted a 73 per cent shot efficiency as opposed to Valcea’s 53 per cent
• Cristina Neagu (13 goals) and Barbara Lazovic (seven goals) were nearly unstoppable and helped CSM to open an unassailable 20:15 lead, after Valcea failed to score for nearly eight minutes
• Neagu’s 13-goal masterpiece, her best game this season, propelled the Romanian back to first place in the top goal scorer standings, with 89 goals
• the second leg will take place next Saturday in Bucharest, with Valcea needing a 10-goal win to overcome the deficit – a difference they have never achieved against CSM in the past nine years

CSM, the best in Romania without a doubt

SCM’s Spanish right wing Marta Lopez told eurohandball.com that CSM were the favourites, but her side could turn the tide if they showed up and play a gritty game. Yet Valcea lacked the clarity, mentality and defensive nous to stop CSM’s main weapons.

While handball is a team game, CSM could not have done it without Cristina Neagu and Barbara Lazovic, who combined for 20 goals from 26 shots. But it was also CSM’s largest win against Valcea in the last four years, a crucial one that showed which Romanian team is the best at this moment.