The Bundesliga handball players of SG Flensburg-Handewitt are in the last eight of the European League. Coach Maik Machulla’s team also clearly won the round of 16 second leg against Benfica Lisbon.
On Tuesday evening, the Schleswig-Holsteiners followed up the 39:26 win in the first comparison with the Portuguese with a 33:28 (19:15) victory and now meet the Spanish club BM in the quarter-finals (April 11th and 18th). Granollers, who prevailed against Skanderborg-Aarhus (Denmark).
“I think we did it very concentrated for 60 minutes. In some phases, however, we took advantage of our opportunities and didn’t take the last step. But that’s a bit of a stretch considering the high level of the game that we brought with us from Lisbon far normal. Overall, the team did it very professionally. I’m very, very happy today,” said Machulla.
Flensburg only had problems at the beginning
In a very fair game, his team only had problems with the Portuguese in the early stages. After nine minutes, the hosts were 3:5 behind in the “Hölle Nord”. The SG then immediately increased the number of strokes and ensured a 7:5 lead with a 4:0 run (12th). The usually very offensive Benfica defense made it easy for the Flensburg team to score goals. In addition, guest keeper Gustavo Capdeville did not get a hand on the ball for the time being. The 25-year-old only improved a little in the final phase of the first half.
Because Flensburg’s defense also lacked the necessary consistency and robustness in some situations, the Bundesliga side’s lead at half-time was only four goals.
SG Flensburg-Handewitt – Benfica Lisbon 33:28 (19:15)
Goals SG Flensburg-Handewitt: Soegard Johannessen (6), Golla (5), Mensing (5), Moeller (4), Einarsson (3), Jakobsen (3/2 Siebenmeter), Pedersen (3), Hald Jensen (2), Hansen (1), Carrot (1)
Benfica Lisbon: Grigoras (5), Bingo (3), Borges Hernandez (3), Borges Silva Semedo (3), Moreira (3), Moreno (3), Izquierdo Labayen (2), Rahmel (2), Djordjic (1/1) , Garcia Barcelo (1), Kljun (1), Martins (1)
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Medical emergency just before halftime
However, the result and the game faded into the background shortly before the break when there was a medical emergency in the stands. Hungarian referees Adam Biro and Oliver Kiss stopped the game, but then quickly released it for the remaining 120 seconds until half-time. The person who had to be treated suffered a dizzy spell, the streaming service “DAZN” reported.
Benfica equalizes, but has no chance in the end
After the change of sides, the SG initially lacked speed and precision. Lisbon, which showed a decent performance in comparison to the disastrous performance in front of their home crowd on the Förde, was able to equalize to 23:23 (45th) through Leandro Semedo. However, coach Chema Rodríguez’s players are unlikely to have dreamed of reaching the quarter-finals. Because the Portuguese still had to catch up 13 goals to make up for the disgrace of the first leg. There was not even a hint of such a spectacular catch-up race.
Because Flensburg acted more concentrated again in the final phase and in the end threw themselves another undisputed victory.
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NDR 2 Sports | 03/28/2023 | 11:03 p.m