The chances of reaching the Final Four in Cologne (June 18th and 19th) are very slim for the team of SG trainer Maik Machulla after the defeat against the defending champion. The second leg of the ten-time winner of the “premier class” will take place on May 19th. It was the third defeat in the third comparison for Flensburg this season. In the main round they were twice defeated by Barcelona, losing 22:29 in the Palau Blaugrana.
“It’s incredibly disappointing that we couldn’t do a little bit better, especially in the first 15 minutes,” Lasse Svan told NDR. “Now we have to make up four goals. But if we do our best, anything is possible.”
The northern rival THW Kiel achieved a much better result in its quarter-final home game: The “Zebras” drew at Paris Saint-Germain.
Flensburg quickly fell behind
The SG once again went into a game with significant personnel problems. In Lasse Möller, Magnus Röd, Franz Semper and Aaron Mensing, four backcourt players were missing again. Left winger Hampus Wanne (ankle injury) was in the squad but was not used.
From the bench, the Swede saw his team-mates make a completely unsuccessful start. After only 1:40 minutes it was 0:3. And as if that wasn’t sobering enough, a little later the hosts had to play a double deficit for almost a minute and a half. After the 2:9 (10th), Machulla reacted and took the first time-out to get his team on track.
The fact that it hadn’t happened by then was also due to Perez de Vargas. The Spanish national goalkeeper fended off a number of shots from Schleswig-Holstein in the early stages. After 20 minutes, the SG had managed just seven goals, the Catalans double the number. But: It gradually got better. Jim Gottfridsson and Mads Mensah Larsen repeatedly put their right winger Svan in the limelight, and thanks to the Dane’s accuracy the hosts closed the gap to 11:15 (27). At the break, with a score of 13:18, participation in the Final Four was still a long way off.
SG fights passionately and closes the gap
But the SG really bit into the game in the second half, now they fought passionately for every ball and were pushed forward by the 4,016 spectators. The deficit was also reduced thanks to the saves by goalkeeper Benjamin Buric.
SG Flensburg-Handewitt – FC Barcelona 29:33 (13:18)
Goals Flensburg: Jakobsen (9/4), Golla (5), Sogard Johannessen (5), Svan (4), Einarsson (3), Gottfriedsson (2), Mensah Larsen (1)
Goals Barcelona: Ben Ali (8), Mem (6), Gomez Abello (5/3), Richardson (3), Cindric (2), Fernandez Perez (2), Janc (2), N’guessan (2), Arino Bengoechea ( 1), Langaro Inoue (1), Makuc (1)
Viewers: 4.016
Nine minutes before the final siren it was only 24:27. Now a lot seemed possible again – even a win in the first quarter-final duel with the team of Carlos Ortega, the former coach of TSV Hannover-Burgdorf. But Barcelona did not allow more. In the end it was a defeat for the SG with a difference of four goals. The most successful Flensburg player was Emil Jakobsen with nine goals.