The SG Flensburg-Handewitt have reached the quarter-finals of the DHB Cup. They won 36:29 (17:12) at TVB Stuttgart on Wednesday evening. The SG's top scorers were Emil Jakobsen (9/1) and Simon Pytlick (6).
The SG started concentrated against Stuttgart's offense with four backcourt players. Blaž Blagotinšek made his 100th appearance for the SG in the middle block. Fellow defense player Johannes Golla got a ball in his face, shook himself briefly and scored from the opposing pivot a short time later to give his side a 4:2 lead. The home side managed to equalize twice more, but the SG was in no way impressed. Kent Robin Tønnesen completed a 4:0 run to make it 9:5. Benjamin Burić already had half a dozen saves to his name after 20 minutes. Marko Grgić conceded a 2-minute suspension and thus unintentionally triggered some good news: Luca Witzke was back on the court for the first time in several weeks. The switch from international mode was successful and the Northern Lights controlled proceedings. Simon Pytlick slipped through to make it 16:10 and he and his teammates marched into the dressing room with a nice cushion at the break.
Don't be taken by surprise
Stuttgart tried a new defensive tactic at the restart: a 5:1 formation. It was unpleasant that the SG were handed two 2-minute suspensions in quick succession. However, Simon Pytlick and Marko Grgić were in no way impressed: The score was soon 20:13 and things were running like clockwork: Benjamin Burić made a save, Lukas Jørgensen grabbed the rebound and the ball was in the hands of Emil Jakobsen in a flash to make it 25:16. The impressive crowd of SG fans went wild when the Danish left wing celebrated his next goal with his handstand move. He scored seven times within twelve minutes, another brilliant performance. But his team-mates also deserved praise for this commanding performance. When Thilo Knutzen appeared on the pitch four minutes before the end, all the players had really been given their allotted time. The mood for the return flight to the north could not have been better.
