The northern rivals THW Kiel and SG Flensburg-Handewitt are hot on the heels of table leaders SC Magdeburg in the Handball Bundesliga.
Record champion Kiel won 29:26 (18:10) at TSV Hannover-Burgdorf on Sunday and is now the first pursuer of Magdeburg (38) with 34 points after 21 games. Flensburg, who won 30:26 (15:13) at HC Erlangen, follows in third place with 32 points.
Fourth-placed Füchse Berlin, who celebrated their third win in a row at 29:22 (15:11) against TVB Stuttgart, have one point less. HSG Wetzlar is fifth, but already some way behind. After the 26:25 (14:13) against HSV Hamburg, the Hessians now have 26 points.
At THW, Niclas Ekberg stood out with nine goals. Patrick Wiencek (six) and superstar Sandor Sagosen (five) also impressed. For a long time it had looked like a sovereign victory for Kiel, but in the final phase Hannover fought back to two goals at times. Nevertheless, the record champion brought success to the finish.
Hampus Wanne with six goals and the German international Johannes Golla with five goals were the most successful throwers for Flensburg, who inflicted Magdeburg’s only defeat of the season on Boxing Day.