VfL Gummersbach won the last game before the European Championship break. There was a 33:27 (15:14) home win against HSV Hamburg on Saturday.
With the second win in a row, VfL was able to secure sixth place and shorten the gap to fifth place again. The outstanding players for the Gummersbachers were Miro Schluroff with eight goals and goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanovic with 15 saves.
Ole Pregel made his last appearance for VfL. The playmaker will join Frisch Auf Göppingen at the turn of the year. In return, Ludvig Hallbäck is moving from Göppingen to Gummersbach.
Balanced first half
In addition to Pregel, VfL coach Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson was able to rely on his entire squad. The Hamburg team, on the other hand, was missing some regulars.
However, the North Germans initially did not notice the personnel shortage. It took just over four minutes for the first goal of the game to come from Gummersbach’s Schluroff. Otherwise, the two goalkeepers Kuzmanovic (VfL) and Robin Paulsen Haug (HSVH) were particularly impressive with a few saves in the opening minutes.
After 13 minutes, Gummersbachs was able to break away for the first time with three goals. Ellidi Vidarsson almost single-handedly took the 7:4 lead with four goals. However, Hamburg were not so easily shaken off and equalized a little later to make it 8:8 (18th). Even after the first two outnumbered phases, the Oberbergische had not gained a major lead (10:9/24th). The game remained balanced until the break and the Gummersbachers went into the locker room with a narrow 15:14 lead.
A strong start puts Gummersbach on the road to victory
The second half began with a strong Schluroff, which contributed three goals to VfL’s 5-2 run (20:16/35.). Hamburg coach Torsten Jansen immediately took a timeout to wake up his team. This time, Gummersbach didn’t give the lead back straight away. Two goals in a row from Julian Köster led to a 25:20 lead (45th). Hamburg now took greater risks with an additional field player, Schluroff took advantage of this to score a goal from his own half to make it 28:22 (48th).
While Schluroff scored one goal after another in attack, Kuzmanovic shone in goal with numerous saves, meaning the game was already decided five minutes before the end. In the final minutes, Pregel was also allowed to play a few more minutes at VfL to say goodbye to the home fans. Despite a few attempts, the playmaker was unable to score his own goal.
After the European Championship break against Flensburg
For Gummersbach, which has four players for the German squad at the European Championship, the European Championship break will continue with a home game against SG Flensburg-Handewitt on February 10th. HSV welcomes SC DHfK Leipzig on the same day.
Our source:
- Game VfL Gummersbach against HSV Hamburg on December 27th, 2025
Broadcast: WDR.de“Gummersbach beats Hamburg thanks to outstanding performance from Kuzmanovic”, December 27th, 2025, 7:53 p.m
