In a long-fighting finale of the Final Four in the DHB Cup, outsider MT Melsungen made life difficult for SC Magdeburg for a long time. In the end, the favorite had the greater reserves. The DHB Cup 2024 went to Magdeburg on Sunday (April 14th, 2024) after a clear 30:19 (13:11) at the end. Flensburg took third place.
Magdeburg, which had eliminated Bundesliga table leaders Füchse Berlin in the semi-final, took a decisive lead in front of 19,750 spectators in the Cologne Arena in the middle of the second half when national player Lukas Mertens made it 20:16 with a total of four goals in a row. In the end, Mertens was the best thrower of the game with seven hits in seven attempts.
“That’s how you imagine it to be on the outside. It’s crazy,” Mertens told Sportschau. In addition, SCM goalkeeper Segey Hernandez made 17 saves (47 percent) almost forget the scandal surrounding the positive doping test of his Magdeburg goalkeeper colleague Nikola Portner.
After their third cup victory overall and their first since 2016, Magdeburg still has the chance of winning the triple of cup victory, championship and Champions League. “You try to come here every year. It’s incredibly difficult, so many good teams,” said Magdeburg’s Christian O’Sullivan, describing the cup victory in the Sportschau interview: “And then we’re here at the end. That’s crazy.”
Melsungen’s coach Roberto Garcia accepted the defeat: “Magdeburg was better. It was very, very difficult for us for over 60 minutes.”
Goalkeepers shape the game on both sides
However, favorite Magdeburg met a very defensive opponent right from the start. Melsungen defended energetically and compactly and played straight forward – often with seven field players. It was only after ten minutes that the SCM was able to briefly pull ahead to 6:4 and thus gain two goals. But Melsungen’s goalkeeper Nebosja Simic, Magdeburg’s defensive work and lack of concentration in the attack opened the door again for MT, who equalized to 6:6.
The game went back and forth and both teams could rely on their support between the posts for everything. Magdeburg’s Hernandez made eight saves in the first half alone. On the other hand, Melsungene’s second man, Adam Morawski, defused two seven-meter penalties in a row.
Lukas Mertens is extremely accurate
So the game remained close and Timo Kastening brought the outsiders back to 11:13 after a fast counter-attack before the half-time siren. Melsungen initially stayed in the game at the start of the second half, until Madgeburg and especially Mertens turned up the heat and paved the way towards cup triumph from the 40th minute onwards.
As a result, Magdeburg had more problems, especially in terms of strength and from the bench. In addition, goalkeeper Hernandez was in a real flow, holding ball after ball. On the other hand, Melsungen’s goalkeepers hardly had any saves in the second half, so the SCM success was no longer in danger.
Flensburg-Handewitt comes third again
SG Flensburg-Handewitt had previously prevailed against Füchse Berlin in the game for third place. The North Germans with DHB captain Johannes Golla defeated Bundesliga leaders Füchse Berlin with 31:28 (15:19). Thanks to their success, Flensburg will only reach the round of 16 in the coming cup season, and the team also secured prize money of 120,000 euros. Flensburg had already finished third last year.
Flensburg’s Simon Pytlick and Berlin’s Lasse Andersson were the best throwers in an intense encounter with seven goals each.
2024-04-14 16:37:00
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