MT Melsungen clearly won the top game of the handball Bundesliga against Hannover-Burgdorf and extended their lead in the table.
Melsungen won on Monday evening of the 16th matchday with 31:23 (16:11) and is now on the pitch in the sun with 28:4 points, a little behind the Hanoverians (24:8). Hanover slips to fourth place, but is level on points with Berlin and Kiel.
Hannover makes too many mistakes at the beginning
The MT got off to a much better start to the game. During this phase at Hannover-Burgdorf, national player Renars Uscins in particular made far too many mistakes in attack – after just under nine minutes, Melsungen led 4-1. Shortly afterwards it was 6:2 and Hannover’s coach Christian Prokop took his first time out – and it had an effect: just three minutes later it was 6:5 and Hannover got into their tempo game better.
Uscins and Co. continued to have big problems in the tight game against the hosts’ very strong defense. On the other hand, the Melsungers won the decisive duels and were able to rely on fresh players almost throughout – coach Roberto Garcia Parrondo made complete changes in the backcourt. After 20 minutes the score was 12:7. There followed a phase in which the guests could have shortened the game, but instead some free throws ended up on the goalpost or at keeper Nebojsa Simic. The 16:11 at half-time was definitely fair.
Melsungen only has to tremble for a moment – and then he does it really cleverly
In the second half, the “Recken” started very dynamically and now found the gaps in Melsungen’s defense more often through a lot of movement in the backcourt. The guests came close to a two-goal difference on several occasions, but Melsungen, in the style of a top team, always had an answer ready and simply presented a touch more calm.
In addition, one or two rebounds ended up in the hands of the red-clad Melsungers. In the end, this combination of cleverness, luck and squad depth was too much for the guests and Melsungen celebrated Christmas Eve as the league leader. The top scorer was the young left winger Ian Barrufet with seven goals, while the national players Uscins and Martin Hanne were the most successful for Hannover-Burgdorf with five goals each.
Kohlbacher and Späth strong in the victory of the Rhein-Neckar Löwen
The Rhein-Neckar Löwen defeated TVB Stuttgart 28:25 (15:13) in the Baden-Württemberg duel and are in seventh place. Stuttgart remains in danger of relegation in 16th place. The guarantees for victory were the German national players Jannik Kohlbacher with seven goals and the substitute goalkeeper David Späth, who made 12 saves and an outstanding rate of 44 percent. Various players scored four goals for Stuttgart.
Potsdam also remains without a point against Leipzig
VfL Potsdam remain without points in the Bundesliga. The newcomer lost against SC DHfK Leipzig with 26:35 (13:17) and is therefore still at the bottom of the table. The 14th defeat in the 14th game was not averted by Maxim Orlov with seven goals and Jannek Klein with five goals as Brandenburg’s best throwers. On the other hand, Franz Semper scored seven goals, Moritz Preuss and Lukas Binder six goals.