It was a back-and-forth game with the teams trading leads in the first 15 minutes. Gloria Bistrita were the first to open a two-goal gap at 7-5, but their attack soon came to a halt, allowing Ikast to step up a gear.
Within minutes, the home team scored four successive goals to go 12-8 up as Stine Skogrand led the charge, netting half of Ikast's goals in the opening 20 minutes.
Bistrita came close again when Sonia Seraficeanu cut the gap to one, but playing without a goalkeeper proved costly as Ikast quickly restored their lead through easy goals in a high-scoring first half.
The second half brought the excitement worthy of the play-offs. From trailing by five, Gloria gradually launched their comeback first with three unanswered goals, then with key saves from Renata de Arruda, and by the 50th minute, they had restored parity (30-30).
Bistrita then took a hit as their leading goal scorer, Danila So Delgado, received a red card, but even without her services, they completed the turnaround in the final minutes of the game. '
With four minutes left, they took their first lead since 7-6 (34-33), and with De Arruda adding a couple more crucial saves, Ikast faltered under pressure. With only 10 outfield players on the match sheet, the home team showed signs of nerves in the closing stages, scoring just once in their last five attacks and ultimately handed a narrow win to their opponents.