Handball: SG Flensburg-Handewitt with a shaky 33:32 win at Frisch Auf Göppingen

AUDIO: Flensburg-Handewitt wins narrowly in Göppingen (1 min)

After the cup defeat during the week against Bundesliga leaders SC Magdeburg, coach Aleš Pajović’s team presented itself with light and shadow. Several time penalties jeopardized the victory of the second-placed team, which was able to improve again towards the end of the game. The best thrower for the North Germans was Emil Jakobsen with 13 goals, while Oskar Sunnefeldt was successful for the hosts with eight goals.

SG needs time to get used to it

After just over two minutes, the referees sent Ymir Örn Gislason from Göppingen off the field with a red card. The Göppingen defense chief had gone too hard against Flensburg’s Niclas Kirkeløkke. Flensburg then took the first lead of the game through Jakobsen and Kirkeløkke, but it didn’t last long.

The SG then lost a lot of the ball and missed throws, and the defense was often too passive against courageous Göppingen players. Victor Klöve gave the hosts a deserved 7-3 lead in the twelfth minute.

Results, table standings and match days at a glance.

The Schleswig-Holsteiners made an interim sprint from the middle of the first half – and were able to rely on Kevin Møller in goal, who, after problems at the start of the game, made seven saves by halftime. In the 23rd minute, the SG equalized (11:11) with a seven-meter penalty from Jakobsen, and in the following three minutes Marko Grgic and Lukas Möller gave the guests a two-goal lead. It lasted until the half-time siren and the score was 15:13.

Time penalties set SG back

After half-time, the guests continued their performance towards the end of the first half, with Simon Pytlick extending the lead to three goals in the 35th minute (20:17). A few seconds later, however, Jakobsen received a two-minute penalty – and Göppingen found their way back into the game. Erik Persson equalized for Baden-Württemberg in the 42nd minute to make it 22:22. The game was exciting and both teams were on equal terms.

In the following minutes it remained an open exchange of blows. After Flensburg was able to pull ahead by two goals in the 48th minute after a goalkeeper change to Benjamin Buric (27:25), Göppingen not only equalized after two time penalties against SG players Blaž Blagotinšek and Johannes Golla, but they even took the lead again through Klöve (28:27, 52nd minute).

Pytlick keeps his nerve

In the final phase it went back and forth – in the end the North Germans had the better nerves. Pytlick scored with the last SG attack to make it 33:32, Göppingen’s last attack of the game was placed by Ludvig Hallbäck with the final siren next to the goal guarded by Buric. So in the end it was a narrow success for coach Pajović’s team.

The SG handball players deservedly lost their quarter-final game at the SCM on Thursday and missed out on a place in the Final Four.

The audience in Flensburg saw 79 goals in the top game of the handball Bundesliga. In the end, the hosts celebrated a narrow success.