SG Flensburg-Handewitt beat Füchse Berlin 40:39 (22:22) on Thursday evening. It thus climbed back to second place in the DAIKIN HBL. The SG's top scorers were Simon Pytlick (11) and Emil Jakobsen (8/4).
"Stand up if you are Flensburg!" A vocal hurricane thundered through "Hell North" a few moments before kick-off. The fans were ready - and so was the SG. Simon Pytlick opened the top game from the SG's point of view with two goals, which - like the Foxes - put the first four attacks in the net. The first missed chance came from Lasse Møller of all people, who was substituted for the first time very early on. His team-mates quickly got back up to speed. Simon Pytlick darted through the defense to make it 6:4. Shortly afterwards, however, "Hell North" had to digest its first deficit: 7:8. "Let's go, Flensburg - fight and win," resounded from the North Stand. However, the motto that evening was: pace and lots of goals. Minute 14 even saw four goals - two on each side. In general, it was a hot dance at eye level. The video board repeatedly signaled a tie. Mark Grgić hammered the ball into the net 15 seconds before the half-time buzzer to make it 22:21. However, Berlin had a quick response.
Important phase around minute 45
44 goals in 30 minutes - a pretty extraordinary haul that was not entirely unexpected given the attacking lines of both teams. After the break, there were a few more mistakes on both sides, meaning the goal frequency dropped slightly. However, the game remained incredibly fast-paced and, above all, exciting. Nobody was able to stay in their seats. When the score was 26:28, things became somewhat critical. Simon Pytlick with determination, then a counter-attack that Domen Novak capitalized on - and everything was back on track. Some SG legends in the crowd made good "mascots". Emil Jakobsen produced a 3:0 run with two seven-meter penalties and a counter-attack - interrupted by two saves from Benjamin Burić. The keeper was not only a factor, but also a guarantee for the atmosphere. His inspiring face now characterized the duel between the posts. The Foxes went six minutes without scoring and Lasse Möller increased the lead to 37:32 as the "Hell North" went into ecstasy. The SG was on top - but not through yet. Ales Pajović called his last team timeout with five minutes remaining - the score was 39:36. Lasse Møller scored goal number 40, but it became really tight once more. Berlin reduced the deficit to 39:40 and had the ball again with 22 seconds remaining. Fortunately, the last shot was blocked. The rest was jubilation.
