Flensburg, Germany – SG Flensburg-Handewitt secured a hard-fought 35-31 victory over HSG Wetzlar on Friday evening, propelling them to second place in the German Handball Bundesliga. The win, achieved despite a challenging match against the league’s bottom team, extends Flensburg’s undefeated record against Wetzlar on home court to 28 years.
The game, played between European League commitments for Flensburg, initially proved a tight contest. Flensburg had defeated HB Montpellier 40-35 in the first leg of their European League tie on Tuesday. Wetzlar, bolstered by the presence of former Flensburg goalkeeper Andreas Palicka – recently released by Kolstad IL due to financial difficulties and now with Füchse Berlin but available for this match – matched the hosts early on. Palicka’s saves kept the game level at 8-8 in the 14th minute.
Yet, Flensburg gradually asserted their dominance. Aksel Horgen’s goal shifted the momentum, and a strong performance from goalkeeper Benjamin Buric began to frustrate the Wetzlar attack. Marko Grgic’s fifth goal extended Flensburg’s lead to 16-10 in the 23rd minute.
Wetzlar refused to concede, narrowing the gap to two goals early in the second half with a goal from Josip Simic (18-20, 32nd minute). A missed opportunity to equalize followed, but Flensburg managed to maintain their advantage. Philipp Ahouansou proved a constant threat for Wetzlar, consistently finding ways to score against the Flensburg defense.
“We played against ourselves at times and were lucky that we had ‘Benko’ behind us,” said Flensburg’s Lasse Möller after the match, as reported by NDR. “But with so many games at the moment, we have to be happy with the two points.”
it was Buric’s exceptional goalkeeping – finishing with 17 saves – that proved decisive. He thwarted numerous Wetzlar attacks, securing the win for Flensburg. Flensburg’s scoring was led by Hampus Volz with 10 goals, followed by Marko Grgic with 7.
Flensburg Goals: Volz (10/1 seven meters), Grgic (7/2), Golla (5), Kirkelökke (4), Möller (4), Horgen (3), Pytlick (2)
Wetzlar Goals: Ahouansou (9), Akakpo (4), Simic (4), Theiß (4), Nafea (4), Löwen (2), Kirschner (2/1), Mappes (1), Suljakovic (1)
Attendance: 6,300
