The season is gradually coming to a close. This is evident in the fact that SG Flensburg-Handewitt will play its penultimate home game on Saturday. The match against TBV Lemgo Lippe is a battle for crucial points in the race for second place in the DAIKIN HBL. Tip-off at the GP JOULE Arena is at 7 p.m.
TBV Lemgo Lippe has already reached the highlight of its season. The Westphalian club was among the four teams that experienced a memorable Lidl Final4 in Cologne. They gave eventual champions Füchse Berlin a run for their money in the semifinals and then secured third place against the designated German champions, SC Magdeburg. “We made a positive impression on the German handball scene,” said Niels Versteijnen. The Dutch left-hander, along with left wing Leve Carstensen, is one of two TBV players who have a history with the SG youth program and won the A-Youth Championship in 2019. Now they are experiencing firsthand how handball is booming in the traditional stronghold of Lemgo like never before. The Phoenix Contact Arena is virtually always sold out, and the team soared to unprecedented heights, especially in the first half of the season. Now, sixth place seems to be the best they can hope for—a finish that would normally qualify them for international competition. This time, however, qualifying for the EHF European League is unlikely.
The TBV Roster
Florian Kehrmann is seen as the face of the team’s steady development. He joined as a player in 1999 and took over as head coach in 2014. “When you’ve been with a club for so long, the most important thing is mutual trust and respect,” says the 48-year-old. “Both are present in abundance at TBV.” When the former world-class right wing began his second handball career, the specter of relegation loomed over the Lipperland region. Now the club is a contender for the top third of the standings. The team has grown. This season’s top scorer is Niels Versteijnen. The experienced Tim Suton and the recently injured Lukas Hutecek drive the offense. Hendrik Wagner and Frederik Simak are alternatives in the backcourt and options on defense. Left wing Samuel Zehnder, who hails from Switzerland, is also among the reliable scorers. Another Swiss national is the new pivot Joel Willecke. In goal, Austrian Constantin Möstl and Urh Kastelic form a duo. The Slovenian will move to Zagreb in the summer and be replaced by Italian national team goalkeeper Domenico Ebner. The core of the team will remain together for the next season. Frederik Simak (Füchse Berlin) and Jarnes Faust (THW Kiel) will return to their former clubs. In their place, Latvian Jānis Pavels Valkovskis (HSC 2000 Coburg) and Swiss Levin Wanner (BSV Bern) will join TBV Lemgo Lippe.
