In the round of 16 of the European League, VfL Gummersbach conquered the MT Melsungen in the German duel and laid a good basis for the second leg.
Gummersbach prevailed on Tuesday evening with 29:26 (15:13) and thus celebrated the eighth competitive game in a row. The second leg will take place next Tuesday (April 1/8:45 p.m.) in Melsungen. The best thrower near Gummersbach was Miro Schluroff with ten goals, for Melsungen Daini’s Kristopans came from seven.
Gummersbach with a lot of pace and joy of playing
Both teams took a high speed at the beginning. According to goals from Ellidi Vidarsson and Schluroff, Julian Köster (11th minute) had the chance of a 3-0 run and the 7: 4 for VfL, but failed on the post. Gummersbach was further ball -safe, had more degrees and increasingly presented the Melsung offensive with problems. Vidarsson and Köster (21st) ensured a 12: 8 lead with two fast goals, Melsungen took the first break.
Afterwards Melsungen was better in the game again, but Gummersbach always found a quick answer. Melsungen’s Kristopans completed an attack with the goal to 13:11, but just a few seconds later the ball was already in the empty Melsung goal after a throw from Vidarsson (26th). Gummersbach took a 15:13 lead into the half-time break and could have been higher, but MT keeper Nebojsa Simic prevented a higher deficit of his team with eight parades in half-time.
Melsungen comes along – Gummersbach remains stable
Melsungen came from the cabin, Kristopans equalized in the 34th minute to 16:16. VfL coach Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson took a break and warned his players to calm down. Then VfL switched one gear again: Kentin Mahé (40th) hit 19:17 before Milos Vujovic closed a quick counterattack after winning the ball in front of his own goal with the goal to 20:17.
Melsungen came back to a goal through Nikolaj Enderleit (44.) and stayed tuned, but the effort was a lot of strength. With three goals in series by Ole Pregler and Schluroff (2), Gummersbach played out a 25:21 lead almost ten minutes before the end of the game. The strong Kristopans (56.) shortened the gap to two goals, but the home side did not burn anything.
Before the second leg in Melsungen on Tuesday (April 1), VfL is already a home game against HSG Wetzlar on Thursday (7 p.m.).
Our sources:
- Game between VfL Gummersbach and MT Melsungen on March 25th, 2025
- EHF European League website
