November began in the GP JOULE Arena just as October had ended: successfully. The SG Flensburg-Handewitt defended the top spot in the DAIKIN HBL with a 33:29 win over HSV Hamburg. The sound bites.
Aleš Pajović, SG coach: "I'm satisfied with the two points. However, the game wasn't quite perfect - but it can't always be perfect. When Marko Grgić and Simon Pytlick come on with so much pace, they're difficult to stop. We have to pay attention to their pressure, which is why Luca Witzke will now play more step by step. When Hamburg went on a 4:0 run in the second half, things got a bit hectic on our part. We made too many mistakes. The defense and Kevin Møller in particular helped us a lot."
Torsten Jansen, Head Coach HSV Hamburg: "We let the gap get too big in the first half. That was one or two technical mistakes too many. At half-time, we told ourselves that we could still catch up. With our patience and concentrated performance, we could have done it, but it wasn't enough for the mentally important draw. We also failed too often against Kevin Møller, who was in some people's heads. We also conceded a few goals that shouldn't have been scored - but that also speaks for Flensburg's quality. I agree with the attitude of my team. We should continue in this direction."
Lukas Jørgensen, SG pivot: "It's always great fun to play in this great atmosphere. And when a few fans from the opposing team are there, it's even more of a party. We played well overall. In the second half, however, we had a phase in which we made too many unprovoked technical mistakes - that could have hurt. Overall, though, we had everything under control."
Emil Jakobsen, SG left wing: "We had a good first half, in which we made a few too many mistakes towards the end and missed free throws. The second half started really well, but then our technical mistakes allowed Hamburg to score some easy goals. We made it unnecessarily difficult for ourselves. In the end, we confirmed our good run."