Bundesliga
Announcement in the title race: Magdeburg’s handball players beat Berlin
Gisli Kristjansson (l) and SC Magdeburg prevailed against the foxes. photo
© Ronny Hartmann/dpa
SC Magdeburg wins the duel between arch-rivals and defeats Füchse Berlin in the top game of the handball Bundesliga. The SCM now has a better starting position in the race for the championship.
The Magdeburg handball party started with the final whistle. As the inferior professionals of the As Füchse Berlin shuffled off the floor after the defeat in the Bundesliga top game, national player Lukas Mertens and Co. celebrated their giant step towards the German championship.
The Elbe city team won the summit meeting against the league leaders from the capital 31:28 (16:15) and now have the title decision in their own hands. With 40:6 points, the SCM remains second in the table for the time being, but has one fewer game in its account than the Berliners (41:7).
“It was a symbiosis of audience and team,” said SCM coach Bennet Wiegert about the cauldron, which was sold out with 6,600 spectators. However, the 42-year-old didn’t want to know anything about a preliminary decision in the fight for the championship and, as usual, went low. “I won’t let anyone tell me that the championship is over. That was just the beginning,” said Wiegert.
Foxes make too many simple mistakes
For the Füchse, the second defeat of the season was a bitter setback in the race for the first German handball crown in the club’s history. “We made too many simple technical mistakes in attack,” criticized national player Nils Lichtlein at Dyn. In addition, the capital club committed too many two-minute penalties in front of national coach Alfred Gislason. “Simply too many goals when outnumbered,” analyzed Lichtlein.
Even a strong performance by Lasse Andersson, who was the best thrower with nine goals, and twelve saves by Dejan Milosavljev, didn’t help the Foxes in the end. Omar Ingi Magnusson was the most successful for the Elbestadt team with seven goals. The Magdeburg handball hall remains a fortress – the SCM also won its twelfth Bundesliga home game.
Heated, but only at times high-class duel
The form spoke in favor of the Magdeburgers, who had built up enormous self-confidence through Champions League victories against the top teams from Barcelona and Veszprem. But the guests got off to a better start and were able to pull away slightly for the first time in the 10th minute (5:3). With a 4-0 run, the home team turned the game around (9:7) and maintained their narrow lead until the break.
The spectators saw a heated, but only at times high-class duel on equal terms – with initially few saves from the goalkeepers. The referees further heated up the mood in the sold-out arena with controversial decisions.
After the restart, the Champions League winner extended their lead to four goals for the first time (23:19). Magdeburg primarily took advantage of their chances when they had the advantage; keeper Sergey Hernandez was better in the game in this phase. The Berliners appeared more discouraged in the attack and often acted too hesitantly, so the SCM maintained its lead despite several mistakes. Both teams will meet again in the cup semi-finals on April 13th.