ASV Hamm-Westphalia vs. VfL Gummersbach
This evening at 7 p.m. in the WESTPRESS arena, the two promoted players in the LIQUI MOLY HBL will meet. For the first time in the club’s history, the hosts from Hamm could move into the quarter-finals of the cup. But the guests from Gummersbach are the favorites. The champion of the 2nd HBL from the previous season won all of the last four competitive games against Westphalia. Including the first round duel of the current season in the LIQUI MOLY HBL. On the third day of play, the Gummersbachers narrowly beat Hamm by 29:28.
Before the game, VfL pivot Ellidi Vidarsson explains that the result from September doesn’t matter for today’s cup fight: “The first half of the season doesn’t count for much in this cup game. What happens before or after this game doesn’t matter, on Wednesday it’s all about progressing. I think our chances are good, but it’s going to be a tough game.”
SC Magdeburg vs. Bergischer HC
“Of course we want to win there, but it’s clear that Magdeburg can’t do a lot, but we can do almost everything,” emphasizes BHC coach Jamal Naji before the cup game that he and his team see themselves as outsiders. And yet the Bergisch lions should travel to Magdeburg with a lot of self-confidence. It was only on Sunday evening that the BHC was able to win impressively in the LIQUI MOLY HBL with 32:27 in Leipzig and thus ended the winning streak of the SC DHfK. In order to avoid another long bus ride, the BHC stayed in Leipzig and prepared intensively for the cup fight against Magdeburg.
The reigning German champions can’t stop celebrating at the moment. While the top game in Berlin was won in the “strongest league in the world”, the away coup in Paris was successful in the Champions League. Especially the Icelandic backcourt duo Omar Ingi Magnusson and Gisli Thorgeir Kristjansson shone in the past games and also staged circle player Magnus Saugstrup. “So we will lose duels, so we need good helpers,” Naji knows about the strengths of the two Icelandic backcourt players. What is certain is that the BHC will throw everything into the balance. Whether it will be enough for the surprise can be seen from 7 p.m. on Sportdeutschland.TV.
HC Elbflorenz 2006 vs. TBV Lemgo Lippe
Second division meets first division. A real cup hit for HC Elbflorenz 2006. Today’s cup game is probably one of the biggest games in Dresden’s handball history, which is still young. The home side’s anticipation is huge. And of course the hosts want to surprise again and deliver a cup fight worth seeing in front of a sold-out hall. In this way you could turn off Minden in the second round of the cup. They prevailed in October with a score of just under 25:24 and booked the round of 16 ticket. HC trainer Rico Göde formulates the motto for the cup evening: “Yes, we are the outsiders and have to play our best and probably more to be able to keep up. Actually, we can’t allow ourselves any weak phases against such an opponent. However, we have little to lose and the TBV a lot. That way we can play freely. We’re really looking forward to it and want to go full throttle for as long as we can.”
Lemgo and the cup competition? That has been the case for the past few years. While the REWE FINAL4 for the DHB Cup 2020, which was held more than a year late, was won, the team traveled to Hamburg again last season for the big final weekend. As the clear favourite, TBV now wants to make it into the quarter-finals of the cup for the third time in a row. “Reaching the quarter-finals of the DHB Cup for the third time in a row would be something special and a nice pre-Christmas present. You have to give your all for 60 minutes and more on Wednesday evening,” says TBV trainer Florian Kehrmann before the game. Kick-off in the Ballsport Arena in Dresden is at 7:30 p.m.
MT Melsungen vs. Rhein-Neckar Löwen
The supposed top game of the day kicks off at 7:30 p.m. in the Rothenbach-Halle in Kassel. The local MT Melsungen welcomes the Rhein-Neckar Löwen and wants to make amends for the start of the season in the LIQUI MOLY HBL. On the first day of this year’s season, they lost away in Mannheim with a crash of 36:25. “In the league we suffered a bitter defeat at the start of the season in Mannheim. We haven’t forgotten that,” says MT sports director Michael Allendorf, describing an absolute motivating factor for the hosts.
For the sixth time in their joint first division history, Melsungen and the Löwen meet in the cup. Today’s guests around their playmaker Juri Knorr, who extended his contract until 2026 during the week, won all five previous duels. In front of their home crowd, the hosts want to put an end to this series, settle the bill from the Bundesliga game and put the ticket for the quarter-finals of the cup under the Christmas tree.
Quarterfinal draw on Friday
Tonight’s winning teams won’t have to wait long to find out who they’ll be up against in the next round. After the other four rounds of 16 were played on Thursday, the quarter-finals will be drawn on Friday. The draw can be seen live from 1 p.m. on the LIQUI MOLY HBL Facebook and YouTube channels as well as on HBL TV.
Photo: Kaesler
