AUDIO: SG handball players move into the Final Four of the European League (1 min)
Northern duel in the European Cup
As of: May 5, 2026 8:32 p.m
SG Flensburg-Handewitt is once again in the Final Four of the Handball European League in Hamburg. After the draw in the first leg, the defending champion clearly won the second leg against northern rivals TSV Hannover-Burgdorf with 43:35 (22:20).
The Flensburgers made their return to the Final Four clear primarily because they improved defensively after an indisputable start. Goalkeeper Kevin Möller played a big part in this after coming on as a substitute. In the crucial phase shortly before and shortly after the break, the Dane stopped almost everything that came at his goal – and thus enabled his team to go on a decisive 8-1 run.
Since the offense clicked like it did in the 39:39 in the first leg the previous week, the “Recken”, who couldn’t get their defense under control and also had no goalkeeping, were no longer able to keep up in the second half. “At the end of the day it was a confident performance,” said captain Johanns Golla, who was pleased to have achieved “one of our big goals” of the season.
While the Schleswig-Holsteiners are preparing for the Final Four on the 30th/31st. May in Hamburg and look forward to the draw on Friday in Vienna, TSV will have to continue to wait for their first European semi-final. Hannover’s captain Marius Steinhauser called the disappointment “incredibly great” and criticized the fact that his team had “lost the thread” after a good start.
High-speed handball and red for Novak
It took five minutes before one of the goalkeepers got a hand on the ball. TSV keeper Joel Birlehm denied Emil Jakobsen a difficult attempt from outside. By then, all throws on both sides had found their way into the goal. It was 4:3 for the hosts (5th) – and there were signs of a “shootout” like the previous week.
However, the scoring and flow of the game came to a brief halt because things got heated. After a scuffle and a battle of words, the first time penalties were given to both teams – one of them for SG goalkeeper Benjamin Buric. A little later, Flensburg’s right winger Domen Novak was shown red because he left his foot on the circle against August Pedersen. The referees considered this to be dangerous to his health and sent him out (10th).
Flensburg is wild as a bird in cover – and yet in front
Afterwards, handball was played again – and the “Recken” did better for large parts of the first half. National player Renars Uscins scored 13:10 (16th) and followed up a short time later with a nice shot in a breathless game (14:11, 17th). The SG defense didn’t really deserve its name, the coordination wasn’t right at all. It was particularly outrageous at 18:16 from Jonathan Edvardson, when Niclas Kirkelökke and Golla felt like they were covering each other in the middle and the Swede walked through freely and scored (23′).
At least the Pajovic team, which had previously been able to keep pace thanks to its fast middle, stabilized somewhat. And just before the break, Golla and Kirkelökke not only gave the guests their first lead, but also gave them a two-goal lead after 30 minutes (22:20).
Möller and Möller become the SG’s guarantees of victory
The SG followed the 5-1 run before the break with a quick 3-0 in the first 90 seconds of the second half to take the game’s first five-goal lead (25:20, 32′). TSV coach Juan-Carlos Pastor immediately took a timeout and switched to seven-on-six on offense.
However, the measure initially only had a short-term effect because Flensburg’s goalkeeper Kevin Möller, who had already been substituted in the first half, appeared more and more often – and his compatriot and surname cousin Lasse Möller scored everything up front except for one missed throw. His goal to make it 31:25 was the seventh goal in the seventh attempt (38th).
The “warriors”, with Leif Tissier in particular convincing with ten goals, had pulled their teeth despite all their visible efforts. Flensburg didn’t let anything go wrong – and even keeper Kevin Möller was able to get on the list of goalscorers. The crowning achievement of his strong evening.
