After the shattered dream of the fifth cup triumph, the SG Flensburg-Handewitt at least secured the consolation prize at the Final4 in Cologne.
The fourth-placed player in the Handball Bundesliga easily prevailed in the game for third place against TBV Lemgo Lippe 28:23 (17:11) and thus gained new self-confidence for the upcoming tough tasks.
The day before, coach Maik Machulla’s team suffered a bitter 31:38 defeat against the Rhein-Neckar Löwen in the semifinals. “That was one of the weakest performances we’ve shown in a long time. That was not enough in all respects. The fact that we failed so clearly hurts extremely and is of course frustrating,” said SG captain Johannes Golla afterwards.
The Flensburg team continues without a break and in the next two games it is about preserving the remaining chances for the title. On Tuesday, the fourth-placed Bundesliga team will initially fight in the European League against the Spanish team of BM Granollers for a place in the Final Four, which SG will host at the end of May.
Next Sunday, the 108th northern derby in the fight for the German championship will take place at the record champion and table leader THW Kiel. “We’re still fighting for two titles. We can be proud of that,” said Machulla. “We have to stand together as a team now and hope that we still have two chances to win in a week.”
