The handball players from SC Magdeburg reached the final at the Final Four in Cologne. Led by the outstanding goalkeeper Sergey Hernandez, who brilliantly represented his teammate Nikola Portner, who was suspended due to a positive test for crystal meth, coach Bennet Wiegert’s team prevailed in the semi-finals against the Bundesliga table leaders Füchse Berlin with 30:25 (14:10). .
On Sunday (3:35 p.m./ARD) Magdeburg will play for the third cup victory in the club’s history, the last time the SCM won eight years ago. In the final, the third in a row for the Champions League winner, the winner of the game SG Flensburg-Handewitt against MT Melsungen awaits, who will play the second semi-final on Saturday evening (7 p.m.).
20,000 spectators spread a lot of atmosphere
In a thrilling game in front of almost 20,000 spectators in the atmospheric Cologne Arena, Hernandez brought the Foxes’ offense to despair with an almost unbelievable number of saves. The SCM impressed in attack with Gisli Thorgeir Kristjansson, who scored eight goals. The best thrower of the game was Berlin’s Lasse Bredekjaer Andersson with nine goals. The Foxes held out for a long time, but have to give up their dream of a second title after 2014.
Even before the prestigious duel against the Füchse, the Portner case dominated the discussions; Magdeburg’s coach Wiegert could clearly see the stress of the past few days. “We would have liked to concentrate more on Berlin. But you can’t choose when, you don’t want that”he said on the ARD microphone, “It was super intense for everyone involved.” That’s why he’s all the more excited about the start of the Final Four, “so he can think about other things.”
Hernandez in focus
Portner’s suspension made Hernandez even more of a focus – and he turned up the heat in the early stages. While the SCM offensive was convincing, the Spaniard parried one ball after the other. Magdeburg led 6-0 early on before world handball player Gidsel finally scored the first goal for Berlin in the eleventh minute.
After the goal, the Bundesliga leaders appeared to be more confident and fought their way back into the game. Shortly before the break, the capital club even had the chance to equalize, but Hernandez made another strong save (24′). The deficit at halftime was four goals. “We are running behind the initial deficit”Berlin’s Nils Lichtlein complained after the first 30 minutes.
Crime in the second half
But the Foxes didn’t give up, and in the second half the predicted thriller developed between the two best teams in the league. But Magdeburg managed to keep their lead – because Hernandez continued to stand like a wall in the goal.