The Buducnosti handball team fought hard during their match in Denmark but ultimately faced their seventh defeat in the Champions League, losing to Esbjerg with a score of 26:19.

Podgorica’s coach, Bojana Popović, expressed her main concern regarding the numerous missed shots and a staggering 23 turnovers made by the team.

“Compared to our game in Podgorica, we got off to a good start and maintained a solid position at halftime, despite some mistakes. We stayed focused on defense and trailed by just a small margin after 30 minutes, yet we failed to convert many opportunities into goals. Our opponents took full advantage of this and pulled ahead,” Popović explained.

What is the underlying issue?

“Esbjerg isn’t the root of our errors; rather, it’s a combination of fatigue and youth. Our young players struggle to manage these challenges. Even though we restricted Esbjerg’s scoring potential reasonably well over both matches, we paid dearly for our errors. I can somewhat empathize with technical mistakes that happen during a match, but instances like the ball slipping from our hands or carelessly sending the ball out of play are harder to accept,” said Bojana, who added:

“I don’t want to dwell on our missed shots because I know how much effort we put into our training to avoid that. The players need to recognize that maintaining concentration is crucial and they must capitalize on every opportunity against Europe’s top teams,” concluded the legendary handball player.

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