The Danish women's handball national team on Saturday defeated Romania by a comfortable 28–20 margin in Bucharest.
In the EHF Euro Cup—a warm-up tournament for the European Championship later this year—the Romanian hosts kept the match competitive for a long spell, but the Danish attack raised its level of play after the break.
Denmark has thus secured a spot in Sunday's tournament final, where handball powerhouse Norway awaits. Earlier on Saturday, Norway won the other semifinal match, beating Hungary 27–23.
Denmark was considered the clear favorite going into the match, but the Romanian hosts managed to trouble the Danish side during the first half. At times, the Romanians displayed excellent attacking play that caused problems for Denmark.
The home side played with plenty of pace to take an 11–10 lead after 19 minutes. National team coach Helle Thomsen did not hesitate to call a couple of timeouts to steady her squad.
It worked, and Denmark matched their opponents' attacking quality. Combined with the unerring accuracy of Emma Friis on several penalty throws, the Danes went into the break with a 17–16 lead.
After the break, the Romanian momentum stalled, while the Danish attack shifted up a gear.
With Romania scoring just three times in the first 17 minutes of the second half, Denmark opened up a much-needed cushion, leading 24–18 with just under fifteen minutes remaining. Goalkeeper Anna Kristensen really stepped up in the Danish goal during the closing stages, helping the women's handball team secure what ultimately proved to be a comfortable victory in the Romanian capital.