Althea Reinhardt on Saturday showed world class goalkeeping to help Odense secure a place in the Final For the first time in club history on the expense of Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros.
Although she was not in the starting lineup, Reinhardt proved to be the decisive factor between the two sides with a saving percentage of no less than 48% in the second half to help Odense beat Ferencvaros 25-24 in the second leg of their two matches in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The first game in Odense ended in a 27-27 draw, and therefore Odense proceeded to the Final Four on an aggreate 52-51 aggregate scoreline.
Although playing in a Hungarian inforno in Budapest, Odense got off to a terrific start as especially Thale Rushfeldt Deila proved her goal instinct scoring four of Odense's first six goals. This resulted in a 6-3 lead after just over eight minutes.
The first 15 minutes was almost flawless for Odense, but then things started to go wrong for the Danes due to a large number of technical mistakes.
Ferencvaros caught up, and with five seconds left before the interval, the Hungarians tied the score at 14-14, after Odense had led 14-11 shortly before.
Ferencvaros began the second half in superb fashion and quickly took a 16-14 lead against a defensively frail Danish side.
However, Odense could count themselves lucky that Reinhardt time and time again provided miraculous saves to keep the Danes in the game.
Her outstanding performance recreated the belief in the Odense outfit, as the Danes built a two-goal advantage towards the end and despite getting close Ferencvaros could not quite close that gap again.
The Final Four will be staged in Budapest on 31 May 31 and 1 June.