Handball Bundesliga club SG Flensburg-Handewitt has fulfilled its dream of winning a European Cup for the sixth time. In the final of the European League in Hamburg on Sunday, the Schleswig-Holstein team beat defending champion Füchse Berlin 36:31 (15:14).
The Flensburg celebrations began a few seconds before the final whistle. When it finally sounded, there was no stopping SG coach Nicolej Krickau and his players. For the Schleswig-Holstein team, it is the first European title since 2014, when the SG won the Champions League.
Flensburg-Handewitt fights its way into the match
The final didn’t need any warm-up time. It went back and forth with high intensity. The SG reacted to two three-goal deficits (1:4, 2:5) with determination in the final. The Danish left winger Emil Jakobsen in particular stood out, putting all three of his shots in the Füchse goal in the first quarter of an hour. Lasse Möller put the Schleswig-Holsteiners in the lead with a brilliant shot from the left backcourt, making it 8:7 (18th).
However, the capital city team was not thrown off course by the opponent’s intermediate spurt or by a missed seven-meter shot by Hans Lindberg in a duel with SG goalkeeper Kevin Möller. The exceptional Danish player Mathias Gidsel strongly directed the Füchse’s game under the watchful eye of his national coach Nikolaj Jacobsen and scored five goals himself in the first half.
Teammate Lindberg was less successful, failing with another seven-meter shot against Kevin Möller (save rate in the first period: 33 percent) just seconds before the half-time whistle. Flensburg went into the locker room with a 15:14 lead.
First red card for Marsenic, then for Gottfridsson
The restart was extremely painful for one SG professional – Simon Pytlick. When the Dane prepared to take a jump shot at the circle, Berlin’s 2.03 meter defender Mijajlo Marsenic raised his left hand and in this movement clearly hit Pytlick on the chin. The logical decision: red card for the Serbian pivot (32nd).
The SG then went ahead to 19:16 (36th minute), but just a few seconds later the Schleswig-Holsteiners weakened themselves. Playmaker Jim Gottfridsson also saw the red card after elbowing Gidsel (36th minute). The question now was: Which loss would be more serious?
SG pulled ahead in the middle of the second half
Twelve minutes before the final whistle, it was clear: Berlin! The Füchse were trailing 24:27 – which was also due to the fact that goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev was only a support in isolated cases. For example, when Pytlick stormed towards him alone and he prevented a four-goal deficit with a reflex. On the other hand, the Serb also conceded too many easy goals. Füchse coach Jaron Siewert ordered Lasse Ludwig between the posts after the 26:30. Flensburg’s Johan Hansen quickly made it 31:26 (52nd).
Flensburg’s Jakobsen voted MVP of the tournament
When Lukas Jörgensen scored 34:30 two minutes before the end, the final was decided early. Jakobsen was the best scorer for the North Germans with seven goals. Jerry Tollbring also scored seven goals for the capital city team. A special honor for Jakobsen: He was also voted Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.
Rhein-Neckar Löwen win bronze
In the match for third place, the Rhein-Neckar Löwen had previously prevailed against the Romanian champions Dinamo Bucharest, who had lost to Flensburg in the semi-finals. The Mannheim team deservedly won 32:31 (18:15), with the best scorers being Jannik Kohlbacher and Niclas Kirkelökke for the Bundesliga team and Miklos Rosta for the Romanians, each with six goals. Goalkeeper David Späth contributed an important goal, making it 30:25 (50th minute) with a throw across the entire field.
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Sports Club | 26.05.2024 | 10:45 p.m.