It was a close game for the first fifteen minutes. Then SG Flensburg-Handewitt pulled ahead and celebrated a victory over MT Melsungen by a margin few would have thought possible. Here are the quotes.
Aleš Pajović, SG Coach: “I’m satisfied. Right from the start, the seven-on-six situation wasn’t easy to handle. But if you win the goalkeeper duel, things get a bit easier. We stepped on the gas and defended well, but we also had a bit of bad luck with the last ball before the time-out. We got off to a good start in the second half. We played at a high tempo, as the 40 goals confirm. In the DAIKIN HBL, we’ll take it step by step, but for now, it’s the EHF European League’s turn.”
Johannes Golla, SG Captain: “From our perspective, it was a good game, but the opponent also made it relatively easy for us. Melsungen didn’t execute the seven-on-six play as well as they’re capable of. Then they weakened themselves with time penalties and a red card. We did well. On offense, we moved the ball around, we defended well, and Benko made his saves.”
Aaron Mensing, MT backcourt player: “We had opportunities to make the game closer. But once the game was decided, the focus quickly shifted to Tuesday, when we expect the highlight of the season so far against Porto. We want to go to Hamburg—and then maybe we’ll see each other again. For a long time, it wasn’t clear whether I could play, but of course I really wanted to be there in Flensburg.”
Simon Pytlick, SG backcourt player: “We played well for 60 minutes. Our defense, in particular, kept finding good solutions against Melsungen’s seven-on-six. The break really did me good. I feel 100 percent fit again. It was just great to be playing handball again.”