Article by David Istrate – Published on Sunday, 26 April 2026, 22:08 / Updated on Sunday, 26 April 2026 22:09
Tomas Axner (56), the coach of Team Esbjerg, was disappointed after the defeat on the field of CSM Bucharest (27-37)which ensured the Romanian champion qualified for the Final 4 of the Champions League in women's handball.
On Sunday, April 26, CSM Bucharest played an excellent game at home, beating Esbjerg by a 10-goal margin (37-27) and qualified for the Final 4 of the Champions League, along with Gyor (Hungary), Metz (France) and Brest (France).
Esbjerg coach Tomas Axner: “Maybe we lost a bit of confidence”
At the end of the game, Tomas Axner, who has coached Esbjerg since 2024, attended the press conference and started his speech with some congratulations to the opponents and especially to Evelina Eriksson, named the best handball player of the match.
“First of all, I want to congratulate CSM. He made a very good match and also special congratulations to Evelina. A very good, solid game“, said the 56-year-old technician.
“We had a tough start, I think it was 6-0. We have a lot of experienced players who have been in similar situations before, played in front of this kind of crowd. It was a fantastic crowd today,” added Axner.
“If you allow a lot of goals in the beginning and you end up being led 6-0, it's hard to come back. We tried some things, we wanted to change the situation, but CSM was stronger, better today. Maybe we also lost a little confidence when we saw that we had to watch their whole match“, said the Swedish coach.
“So, for us, a very poor result. Obviously, we are not happy that we lost so decisively. We expected a tough and balanced game, but we didn't succeed. That's also because the opponent was very well prepared and very strong mentally. So, again, congratulations to CSM!”, concluded Axner.
Esbjerg missed out on qualifying for the Champions League Final 4 for the first time in 5 years. In the 2024-2025 season, the Danes won the small final after a victory over Metz Handball: 30-27.
