After sobering days, the SG Flensburg-Handewitt has the best chance to make amends – it’s in the close championship race to the north derby at THW Kiel.
The frustration was still deep in Maik Machulla’s bones. “We didn’t see it coming,” said the SG Flensburg-Handewitt coach on Friday. Two days before the prestigious 108th northern derby in the Handball Bundesliga at THW Kiel, the 46-year-old was still challenged in individual discussions and tried to work through the painful setbacks with his professionals.
“That’s the way it is in sport, there are very difficult phases,” said Machulla, who, after the knockout in the cup semi-final on Saturday, had lost participation in the Final Four of the European League in his own hall with SG three days later: ” It’s extremely painful with little sleep, lots of emotions and self-doubt.”
These doubts must be wiped aside as quickly as possible by Sunday (2:05 p.m. / NDR and Sky). After all, the eternal rival from Kiel is about the last chance for the title. “Both teams are playing for the German championship. Because it’s so close, every game is a final,” said the Flensburg coach, who classified the game as “extraordinary” from the “adrenaline and emotion”.
With nine games left on the list, Flensburg is fourth in the table and only two points behind in the role of the hunter behind defending champions SC Magdeburg, Füchsen Berlin and THW. The tension is enormous.
Also on the part of the record champions from Kiel, who want to take the next step towards the 23rd championship with the support of their “white wall”. “It’s something like a final – for both of them,” said THW captain Niklas Landin. Meanwhile, coach Filip Jicha emphasized the importance of the game itself. “Two historic clubs from the immediate vicinity are dueling,” said the Czech: “The whole of Germany is looking forward to the game.” It will be unique again.
THW Kiel has “great respect” for Flensburg
And the people of Kiel haven’t forgotten the first leg – the 23:36 bankruptcy in the “Hell North” was their highest derby defeat ever. A real shame. “We have a lot of respect for SG, but we want to show on Sunday that we definitely want to leave the field as winners after the game,” said Jicha.
Then the look should go to the competition, which could lose feathers. Berlin will probably meet the newly crowned cup winner Rhein-Neckar Löwen (4:05 p.m. / Sky) without the injured goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev. At the same time, Magdeburg had to defend themselves from sixth-placed Hannover-Burgdorf.