Odense Handball suffered a rare defeat on Sunday. Playing away in the Champions League against Romania's Gloria Bistrita, the Danes faced constant struggles and lost 27–29.
Odense held the lead only briefly in the second half before the Romanians—spurred on by an enthusiastic home crowd—capitalized on a flurry of errors by the visitors to secure both points.
This marks a somewhat inconsistent start to the Champions League campaign for Odense; after three matches, the club has recorded a win, a loss, and a draw.
It was clear from the opening whistle that Odense was in for a difficult day. Neither their defense nor their attack was working, and the team appeared intimidated by the Romanians.
Gloria Bistrita enjoyed strong home support, played a bruising defensive game against the visitors, and found plenty of openings against a sluggish Odense defense.
Midway through the first half, Odense trailed 6–10 but managed to work their way back into the match during the latter part of the period. Johanna Bundsen began finding her rhythm in goal, and their attacking plays started to click.
Shortly after the break, the team drew level at 15–15, and after 41 minutes, they took the lead for the first time in the match. At that point, it seemed Odense had found the winning formula, but suddenly, far too many errors began to creep into their attack.
Sensing blood, the Romanians went for the kill and snatched both points.