Handball Bundesliga team SG Flensburg-Handewitt has come a lot closer to their dream place of Hamburg. The Schleswig-Holsteiners clearly won the quarter-final first leg of the European League at IK Sävehof with 41:30 (22:14) and have almost booked their ticket to the Final Four on the Elbe (May 25th/26th).
The second leg against the Swedes next week (April 30th, 6:45 p.m.) in the “Hölle Nord” at home will probably only be a formality for the North Germans if they act anywhere near as concentrated and unerringly as they did away from home on Tuesday evening Partille Arena. By the middle of the second period, the spectators saw a difference in class. It was only in the final phase that Sävehof was able to keep things somewhat balanced. However, this didn’t change anything about Flensburg’s victory.
Flensburg with an almost perfect first half
The SG played close to the optimum in the first section. The only small flaw from the North Germans’ perspective was actually the result at halftime. Because the lead could have been even higher against Swedes who were particularly inept in defense. But that would have been complaining at a very, very high level. And of course at halftime no Flensburg player complained about the result, which perfectly reflected the balance of power on the board.
The Schleswig-Holsteiners were highly concentrated in defense from the start and were very effective in their finishing. However, the home team made it far too easy for coach Nicolej Krickau’s team far too often. First, the Scandinavians tried to take away the power of the powerful SG backcourt around Jim Gottfridsson with a very offensive 5:1 cover. Vain. The guests repeatedly found gaps in Sävehof’s defense and led 15:8 after just 19 minutes.
Sävehof was overwhelmed in defense and too hectic in attack
Even when the home team switched to a 6-0 defense, the SG continued to score almost at will. Sävehof, which primarily tried to score goals through the quick middle, showed a decent performance in attack. But the main round champions of the Swedish elite class made too many technical errors, which Flensburg cleverly used to score counter-attack goals.
IK Sävehof – SG Flensburg-Handewitt 30:41 (14:22)
Tore IK Savehof: Berlin (6), Mittun (6/1 Siebenmeter), Brolin (4), F. Möller (3), Westby (3), Andersson Moberg (3), Blanche (2), Wedberg (2), Johansson (1/ 1)
SG Flensburg-Handewitt: Jakobsen (9/2), Golla (8), LK Möller (7), Gottfridsson (6), Jörgensen (6), Einarsson (4), Horgen (1)
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SG continues to pull away after the break
Despite their dominance and high lead, the Bundesliga club had to be warned before the start of the second half. Sävehof was also able to improve significantly in the play-off second leg for the quarter-finals against TSV Hannover-Burgdorf and was able to bring the “Recken” to their knees after a furious final phase. Accordingly, the Krickau team continued to work with concentration after the restart. The guests’ throwing effectiveness remained unabated. They were even able to extend their lead to eleven goals thanks to Emil Jakobsen (30:19/42.).
Afterwards, a loss of tension among the North Germans could be observed in one scene or another. Sävehof now scored a few simple goals that were not at all to Krickau’s liking. “We totally lost the intensity in defense,” criticized the coach during a timeout (51st). At this point the lead had dwindled to seven goals (34:27).
In the final phase, his protégés shifted up a gear again and ultimately celebrated an absolute victory, even at the highest level.
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Sports current | April 23, 2024 | 8:17 p.m
