The SC DHfK Leipzig handball players suffered their first Bundesliga defeat in 2023. After four wins in a row, coach Runar Sigtryggsson’s team lost 32:36 (17:19) to HC Erlangen on Thursday evening in front of 4038 spectators. Viggo Kristjansson, Maciej Gebala, Oskar Sunnefeldt and Matej Klima each scored five goals in the loser. With 24:22 points, the SC DHfK, which has never won the HCE, slipped down to eighth place in the table.
After the three surprising successes against title contenders SC Magdeburg (33:32), THW Kiel (34:31) and Rhein-Neckar Löwen (37:29), Leipzig suddenly found themselves among the favorites in Nuremberg. They got on well with it in the early stages. They immediately developed penetrating power in attack and were leading 8:5 after eight minutes, before the Erlangen team took advantage of the visitors’ six-minute dry spell to take the lead for the first time with four goals in a row (9:8). The HCE was not impressed by the red cards against Sebastian Firnhaber and Nikolai Link. The emerging hustle and bustle only harmed the SC DHfK, which lost its playful line and repeatedly conceded counter goals after technical errors.
The substitution of goalkeeper Pascal Bochmann for the hapless Kristian Saeveraas brought a new impetus. The 20-year-old prevented a higher deficit at the break and made two saves at the beginning of the second half possible for Leipzig to equalize at 19:19 (33rd minute). However, the hosts continued to demonstrate greater determination and again moved slightly ahead to 25:22 (42nd). The SC DHfK ran after this deficit in vain because it was unable to gain access in defense. With the goal to make it 33:28 five minutes before the end, Tim Zechel made the preliminary decision in favor of the hosts.
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