Team Esbjerg may once again boast of having Denmark's best women's handball team.
After ceding the throne to Odense Handball last year, Team Esbjerg regained the title on Tuesday.
In the third and decisive playoff final, Team Esbjerg won 35-29 over last year's champions from Odense. Thus, Team Esbjerg can now boast of having six Danish trophies in their cabinet.
There were great expectations before the third and decisive final in Esbjerg, and spectators were not disappointed.
The pace was high throughout the encounter, lots of goals were scored, and the scene in Esbjerg was electric. And then it didn't matter that the two teams started by making just as many technical errors.
This is often how it goes when the pace gets a notch too much, and there was really speed across the arena from both sides from the first whistle. Both goalkeepers struggled to get into the game, and consequently, the high pace was also translated into a sea of goals.
Electric atmosphere
The decisive factor in the first half was that Odense made slightly more mistakes than Esbjerg, who, at the same time, were clearly stronger in the counterplay and therefore went into the break with a lead of 19-17.
Esbjerg's Henny Reistad had been terrifying in the first two finals, and when the second half began on Tuesday, Odense used drastic methods in an attempt to stop her.
From the first whistle, the Norwegian star was taken completely out of the game. It didn't last long, however, because Esbjerg just put an extra field player on the floor, which the visitors couldn't resist at all.
Midway through the second half, Esbjerg tightened the grip on the game. The offense worked flawlessly, while defensively, the West Jutland favorites forced Odense to make questionable decisions.
Odense's attacking play became more and more feverish, and the looks of resignation began to spread across the faces of the visitors. With 15 minutes to go, Esbjerg was ahead with seven goals, and the atmosphere in the arena in Esbjerg reached boiling point when it became clear that Odense couldn't get back on level terms.