The Rhein-Neckar Löwen threaten to say goodbye to the title race of the Handball Bundesliga after the third defeat in a row.
Coach Sebastian Hinze’s team continued their negative run on Thursday with a 30:33 (14:19) at TBV Lemgo Lippe and continues to lose ground.
Six goals each from the best lion throwers, Juri Knorr and Kristjan Horzen, did not prevent the next setback. The Mannheimers had previously lost at SC DHfK Leipzig (29:37) and HSV Hamburg (32:35), they are fourth in the table now with 37:13 points and thus have four minus points more than table leader Füchse Berlin (39:9) on the account.
In the case of Lemgo, which like the Hinze team is fighting for the DHB Cup at the Final Four in Cologne on April 15 and 16, national players Lukas Zerbe and Niels Versteijnen shone as the best shooters with six goals each.
After the setback at HC Erlangen, Leipzig also suffered their second defeat in a row: Promoted VfL Gummersbach celebrated a 34:30 (15:17) away win at the Saxons, who could at least console themselves with a contract extension. Ahead of the game, the club announced that top scorer Viggo Kristjansson has extended his contract until 2027.
In addition, MT Melsungen celebrated their first win of the year with a 26:23 (11:7) at TVB Stuttgart. The North Hesse had been waiting for a win for six games.