Victorious start to the "derby weeks" for Flensburg against HSV

After facing seven times in the previous season (including four duels in the VELUX EHF Champions League) the Northern German rivals SG Flensburg-Handewitt and HSV Hamburg have started another series of duels.

In only eleven days both powerhouses of German handball will face three times. The first clash was in the domestic league on Sunday evening, won by host Flensburg 31:29 (16:13).

However, on Saturday the defending VELUX EHF Champions League winners have the chance to take revenge in the first of two Champions League duels on home court, followed by the return match on Thursday 21 November.

“Congratulations for the well-deserved victory – but soon we meet again,” said Hamburg coach Martin Schwalb after his team had mainly failed to beat Flensburg’s world class goalkeeper Mathias Andersson, who saved an incredible 23 HSV shots on Sunday evening in a sold-out Flens-Arena.

Flensburg remain in second position in the Bundesliga after this win, below THW Kiel and three positions ahead of the team from Hamburg.

Highly charged atmosphere

Both sides agreed that the first of three duels was a highly emotional match, including a red card for SG playmaker Thomas Mogensen, which does not have any effect on the two VELUX EHF Champions League matches.

Even twelve goals from last season’s top scorer Hans Lindberg were not enough for Hamburg.

“We all had goose bumps, our fans were more than the eighth player for us,” Flensburg coach Ljubomir Vranjes praised the atmosphere – and hopes for the same attendance on 21 November.

The top scorer for Flensburg was surprisingly Serbian newcomer Drasko Nenadic, who hit the back of the net eight times.

After a strong opening period for HSV, Flensburg turned the match around and did not give away the lead after going ahead 8:7 in minute 17.

Forging ahead to 16:12 right before the break and even to 22:17 with just over 20 minutes to play was mostly the merit of goalkeeper Andersson.

“His performance was incredible, simply incredible,” SG manager Dierk Schmäschke said.

Although Hamburg managed to reduce the gap in the final stages, victory for the hosts had never been in danger.

Committing to the future

But the two points against their old rivals, who had eliminated Flensburg en route to the VELUX EHF FINAL4 last season, was only one part of the Flensburg happiness, the second were the signatures of two key players.

Team captain and defensive specialist Tobias Karlsson (Sweden) and right wing and 2013 World Championship top scorer Anders Eggert (Denmark) extended their contracts until 2017.

“My heart beats for Flensburg, so it was an easy decision for me to stay,” Eggert, who has been part of the Flensburg squad since 2006, was quoted on the SG website.