Credit: HB Dudelange
On Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 April 2025, the finals of the Loterie Nationale Coupe de Luxembourg in men's and women's handball took place at the Coque sports complex in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.
The men's final was the first to determine a champion. HB Dudelange reached the title match after defeating HB Käerjeng 36-29 in the semi-final, while HC Berchem advanced by overcoming last year’s finalists Red Boys Differdange 34-25.
HC Berchem quickly established a ten-goal advantage (18-8) in the first half, with Raphael Guden contributing nearly a third of the team’s goals through five successful shots. After the break, Dudelange struggled to reduce the gap to fewer than seven goals. With four minutes remaining, the score stood at 32-25 and despite eleven goals from Dudelange's Samuel Etute, Berchem maintained control. In the final minutes, Dudelange managed to narrow the gap slightly, but Berchem secured victory with a final score of 34-28.
In an interview with Chronicle.lu, HC Berchem head coach Marko Stupar shared his thoughts: “I think that the decisive factor in our game was the discipline and focus on the tasks set, both in attack and defence. Through all that, we came to the desired situations, which we then solved in a large percentage in our favour. Of course, in every game there are individuals who make a special contribution to the victory, but this is a group of people who create a result through the team and their approach means a lot to me. We kept that consistency and group dynamics in both games and deservedly won the title of Luxembourg Cup winner, our second title this season along with the Super Cup title won at the start of the championship in September.” He added: “This title means a great confirmation of the quality of this generation of the HCB team, but also of the unity within the entire team. Absolutely everyone deserves credit!”
In the women’s competition, HB Käerjeng reached the final after defeating CHEV Diekirch 27-19 in the semi-final, while HB Dudelange secured their place with a 28-19 victory over HB Museldall.
The reigning cup holders, Dudelange, successfully defended their title, although not without difficulty. Käerjeng led at half-time 11-8, with Jennifer Zuk scoring three times and Teodora Galic and Lena Kirtz each contributing two goals. After the break, Dudelange managed to close the gap and took the lead nine minutes before the end of the match. Joy Wirtz was Dudelange’s top scorer with eight goals, but it was Lara Steffen’s decisive goal three minutes from time that sealed a 20-18 advantage. Dudelange ultimately claimed a 20-19 victory, winning the Loterie Nationale Coupe de Luxembourg for the second consecutive year and for the fourth time in five seasons.
