SC Magdeburg carelessly throws victory away
Lucas Meister (M) prevails against two opponents. It wasn’t enough for Magdeburg to win in Poland
Quelle: dpa/Szymon Labinski
SC Magdeburg did not get beyond a draw in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Nevertheless, the German handball champion has the best chance of reaching the semifinals. An injury worries the team.
Dhe German handball champion SC Magdeburg missed a better starting position in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League and has to worry about playmaker Gisli Kristjansson. In the end, the SCM scored 22:22 (12:9) against the Polish runner-up Wisla Plock. Michael Damgaard was the best Magdeburg shooter with eight goals. The second leg will take place on May 17 (6.45 p.m.) in the home arena.
Magdeburg could rely on Mike Jensen in goal, who initially secured a small lead for the Elbe city-dwellers (5:2/9th minute). After almost twelve minutes, Kristjansson twisted his left foot and was unable to continue playing. The five-goal lead of Magdeburg shrank to just two because Plock played well with the seventh field player (7:5/17th).
Without playmaker Kristjansson, the SCM acted offensively too imprecisely and missed a possible higher lead at the break. The Magdeburg playmaker had to leave the plate after twelve minutes. The 23-year-old had previously twisted his ankle without being affected by an opponent. A Kristjansson absence would be a heavy blow for the SCM in the final weeks of the season. An exact diagnosis has not yet been determined.
Magdeburg gives up a lead of six goals
Magdeburg came on strong at the beginning of the second half and opened up a six-goal lead in the first five minutes. After that, however, the Elbe townspeople lost the flow of the game, probably also because of Kristjansson’s injury. Plock came up harder and reduced the lead to three goals (16:13/42.). It got even worse for the guests: unnecessary Magdeburg errors in the last two minutes brought Plock the equalizer (22:22/59.). A supposed winning goal by Damgaard rightly didn’t count, Plock missed the last shot.