Newly promoted HBW Balingen-Weilstetten kept its clean slate after the home European Championships. The bottom team in the Handball Bundesliga (HBL) beat HSG Wetzlar 21:16 (12:10) and celebrated their second win in the second game of the year. Fellow promoted team ThSV Eisenach, however, lost to Frisch Auf Göppingen 31:35 (12:17), which was the third defeat in a row for the second-to-last team in the table.
In Göppingen, celebratory Tim Kneule scored the first goal of the evening, the backcourt player played his 500th Bundesliga game. By the final whistle, the 37-year-old veteran had increased his tally to four goals, but his team’s top scorer was Marcel Schiller with ten goals.
In the table, Göppingen moved past Wetzlar into eighth place. The last ten minutes before the break were decisive for this, when the hosts went from 8:8 to 17:10 against the underdogs from Eisenach.
Balingen, on the other hand, benefited from a very strong initial phase. Ten minutes had been played and the guests were already leading 6-1. Wetzlar fought its way back in the meantime, but even after the break, the bottom team came out of the locker room better. The best thrower was Tobias Heinzelmann with four goals, Lenny Rubin led the way with the same score for Wetzlar.