This weekend, the SG Flensburg-Handewitt will play on Friday. They will face HSG Wetzlar in the DAIKIN HBL. Kick-off in the not quite sold-out GP JOULE Arena is at 7 pm.
A home game against the bottom team - that sounds like a no-brainer. Aleš Pajović does not even have to warn his players about the "dangerous" DAIKIN HBL this time to demand the necessary attention from his boys for the supposedly mandatory task. It is enough to look back at the first leg, which - according to the SG coach - "still hurts." The SG only managed a 33:33 draw in Wetzlar. In a hectic final phase, the SG bench pressed the buzzer a fourth time in violation of the rules. The result: loss of possession instead of a team timeout. Now there is only one answer: two points. "We want to focus on ourselves, work patiently in defense for 60 minutes and play with concentration in attack," demanded Aleš Pajović.
Some space on the bench
A lot has changed at HSG Wetzlar since the first encounter in late summer. The two most important personnel changes are that Rúnar Sigtryggsson is now coach and Andreas Palicka is the number one goalkeeper. But the SG does not have the same squad at its disposal either. Of the three former Wetzlar players, only Domen Novak (2021-2025) and Benjamin Burić (2016-2018) will be able to play. Kent Robin Tønnesen, who played in Hesse from 2013 to 2015, is not yet ready. "He's doing well, but not well enough," says Aleš Pajović. The SG coach says with a grin: "We have enough space on the bench." That should be the chance for one or two youngsters. The first candidate is the young Romanian keeper Catalin Haidu, as Kevin Møller has been complaining of knee problems since Tuesday evening. By the way: There is no weekend off for the SG. Training will take place in the Duburghalle on Sunday, as the Montpellier tour begins on Monday morning.