SG Flensburg-Handewitt has failed to reach the final of the Winamax EHF Finals. In the semifinals, they lost to MT Melsungen 30–37 (14–15). Tomorrow, Sunday, SG will face Montpellier HB at 3 p.m. for third place.
“Everyone in blue to Hamburg!” That was the motto in the impressive SG fan section. At the opening whistle, everyone already knew that reaching the final would have meant the 117th regional derby. THW Kiel had previously narrowly defeated Montpellier HB 29–28. The semifinal didn’t start off so well, though. It took nearly four minutes for Emil Jakobsen to break the deadlock. Then Johannes Golla received treatment on his head, but fortunately returned quickly wearing a blue-and-white “turban.” Although Simon Pytlick scored to make it 4:3, the first lead did not have a liberating effect. A 0:5 run put the SG seriously behind. However, the SG did not let the poor start unsettle them. Their play became more consistent. The SG was always dangerous on the wings. Domen Novak narrowed the gap to 9-10. Emil Jakobsen showed off a great lob and tied the score at 13-13 with a penalty throw. It was now a true cup battle between equals—with plenty of emotion on the court and in the stands.
No answer for the MT attack
The teams entered the second half trailing by a narrow margin—and at a fast pace. The offensive lines got off to a strong start. A chorus of chants rang out from the SG section: “Ole, ole, SG-W!” MT Melsungen made the first save of the second half, suddenly taking a 21:18 lead. When the North Hessians increased their lead to 24:20 shortly thereafter, Aleš Pajović gathered his players for a team timeout. “We tried a lot against Melsungen’s seven-on-six, but MT always had an answer,” the SG coach said later. “When you try everything but nothing leads to success, you get more and more nervous.” The defense simply lacked stability. The opponent scored almost at will. When errors crept in up front, Emil Jakobsen missed two penalty throws, and it became clear that Melsungen would win the goalkeeper duel, the sporting tide turned. After falling behind 22-29, a 5-1 formation and a few good plays by Benjamin Burić provided a brief surge, but not a turnaround. The dream of a title hat trick was shattered. “We have a tough mental challenge tomorrow, but we’re determined to finish third,” said Simon Pytlick.
