Füchse Berlin suffered their first defeat of the season in the European League. On Tuesday evening, the Berliners lost 27:28 (13:16) to the French representative Fenix Toulouse Handball.
In the fourth game in just eight days, the weakened foxes lacked the strength. The handball Bundesliga team had already qualified for the round of 16. Best Berlin throwers were Jacob Holm with seven and Milos Vujovic and Hans Lindberg with five goals each.
The Berliners were again missing a quintet with Fabian Wiede (Corona), Fredrik Genz (ill), Marko Kopljar, Marian Michalczik and Nils Lichtlein.
The guests started the game well with a 5:2 lead. Then, however, the mistakes piled up, the team from the German capital acted too unfocused.
In attack, they failed again and again at the Belgian goalkeeper Jeff Lottens, in defense there was no access at all. And the only 18-year-old keeper Lasse Ludwig could hardly get hold of a ball.
He was replaced by first-choice goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev in the middle of the first half. But even after that, the French too often came up with easy goals. Almost every attack was also a hit.
Even after the change of sides, Berlin’s finishing weakness remained, but now keeper Milosavljev kept his team in the game with numerous strong saves.
Two minutes before the end, the foxes came within a goal again (25:26). They fought, but in the end the Berliners ran out of time.