After the weekend off, the SG Flensburg-Handewitt are challenged for the second time this season in the EHF European League. It will play at Bidasoa Irun on Tuesday at 20:45.
It is the first international away game in this series and the first time ever that an SG team has traveled to Irun. The SG squad had already arrived at Hamburg airport on Monday morning. The destination: Bilbao. From the northern Spanish metropolis, they traveled 120 kilometers by bus through the Basque Country to Irun. The two teams that won their opening matches in Group A of the EHF European League will meet there tomorrow, Tuesday, at the "Polideportivo Artaleku" (2200 seats). "Our goal is of course to get two points," explained Aleš Pajović. "But we have to be at 100 percent, otherwise we'll have problems like we did against Saint-Raphael." The SG coach is pleased that his players have had a bit of a run recently, have built up a lot of confidence and have been able to reduce the heavy workload over the last few days - three games in five days.
Irun with a respectable win in Barcelona
Bidasoa Irun made it to the quarter-finals of the EHF European League in the last series, but will have a much tougher time this time in view of the draw results. The 34:33 opening win in Turda, Romania, kept their hopes of progressing alive. Which certainly impressed the SG Clan: The northern Spaniards only lost 31:33 at the glorious FC Barcelona in the Spanish league on Friday. "We have to be prepared for typical Spanish handball," says Aleš Pajović. "Irun play with a lot of crosses and are fast on the fast break." The final decisions on the squad will not be made until tomorrow's technical meeting, when the 16-man squad has to be announced.