The SG Flensburg-Handewitt needed 40 minutes to prove their qualities. Then they managed a 36:28 victory over SC DHfK Leipzig. The sound bites.
Johannes Golla, SG captain: "You never get anything for free in the DAIKIN HBL. We're happy about the last 25 minutes of the second half. We wanted to decide everything in the first five minutes - that can't work. Leipzig deserve a lot of respect for the first half. Franz Semper and William Bogojevic scored almost everything. Our block wasn't set up so well. The two deflections helped us a bit. In the end, it was a commanding win. Expectations are always high, but after the last few games we're not so solid."
Frank Carstens, coach of SC DHfK Leipzig: "I'm not satisfied, we lost. The SG had the better quality at the back. We put up a good fight for long stretches of the game, but in the end we weren't able to do so. We played very well in attack in the first half. Although we made seven technical mistakes, we had a very good shooting percentage. After the break, we lost our way a little and Flensburg became more and more confident. I think we had a bit more in it. That's why I can't draw a positive conclusion."
Aleš Pajović, SG Coach: "We were nervous in the first half. That meant the game wasn't ideal. In the second half, we showed that we were the better team. We managed to put up a good defense. Benjamin Burić was there again. We were able to run a lot and score easy goals. Marko Grgić, Simon Pytlick and Lasse Møller showed their qualities. The second half was like the first half should have been. But unfortunately it doesn't always work like that. What makes me very happy is that Kent Robin Tønnesen is back and also scored a goal. It's a good feeling that we can go into next week with a wider squad."