Glandorf expects some intense 60 minutes for Flensburg
Will the second German or the second French team proceed to the quarter-final of the VELUX EHF Champions League?
This is the main question ahead of the second leg of SG Flensburg-Handewitt and Montpellier HB on Sunday.
The hosts won the away game 28:27 and could follow THW Kiel to the quarter-finals, while Montpellier need a two-goal win to follow French champions Paris Saint-Germain Handball who are already among the last eight teams.
SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) vs Montpellier HB (FRA)
Sunday 27 March, 17:00 hrs (CET) live on ehfTV
Three wins and one draw is the home tally of SG Flensburg-Handewitt against Montpellier.
Hence the guests can write history if they take the fortress-like Flens-Arena which has been conquered this season only by MVM Veszprém, while at the same time Flensburg recorded an impressive 39:32 win against PSG and even a 37:27 win against THW Kiel in their VELUX EHF Champions League home matches.
"We have to create a hellish atmosphere to proceed to the quarter-final," says SG coach Ljubomir Vranjes ahead of the duel between two former title holders.
While Flensburg lifted the trophy in 2014, Montpellier won the title in 2003. Already in charge back then was coach Patrice Canayer, who has been with his team for longer than any other coach in the competition.
Canayer remains confident: "Despite the mistakes we made in the first leg, this one-goal defeat gives us the opportunity to go to Germany and spring a surprise.
"I was a bit disappointed by our result at home at first, because we put so much intensity in the game and could only finish with a defeat."
While Flensburg hopes that goalkeeper Mattias Andersson will be the key player again, Montpellier suffered a huge blow in the first leg.
Diego Simonet is out for at least six months after the serious knee injury he sustained in the first leg. Furthermore, Mathieu Grébille will miss the match.
Canayer tries to see the positive side of it: "We were in the same kind of occasion when we faced Kielce last season, everybody thought they would sweep us and we managed to win in Poland."
And while the 33:31 victory against KS Vive Tauron Kielce in last year's Last 16 was not enough after Montpellier had lost 25:29 at home, on Sunday this result would grant them a place in the quarter-finals.
And in that stage, maybe Kielce again would be the likely opponents, as the Polish champions won their first leg at HC Meshkov Brest 32:28.
Flensburg can celebrate a little anniversary if they proceed, as they then would play their tenth quarter-final in their eleventh participation in the VELUX EHF Champions League, while Montpellier HB reached this stage six times so far, but the last time is already five years ago.
In the previous season, both teams failed in the Last 16: Flensburg against Kiel and Montpellier against Kielce.
"We must not underestimate Montpellier because of their injury situation and the result of the first leg. We need to be ready for 60 intense minutes," says Flensburg right back Holger Glandorf.
Canayer has respect for the hosts, but says as that "Flensburg are an impressive team at home with great fans and winning there is no easy thing. But the fact that we only lost by one goal gives us a little hope to turn the situation around."
It is exactly this one-goal win that makes the game far from easy for Flensburg according to manager Dierk Schmäschke: “I was impressed by the fans in Montpellier, but now our spectators have the chance to win the duel on the stands, as we hope to win the duel on court again.
"The chance to proceed is good, but this match will be anything but a match that we have already won."
Win a SG Flensburg-Handewitt match shirt
And there is not only a chance for either Flensburg or Montpellier to win on Sunday, bur also for all handball fans.
Starting with the second leg of the Last 16, title sponsor VELUX has launched a 'Guess the score' competition and the first game to guess is the Last 16 encounter between SG Flensburg-Handewitt and Montpellier HB.
To enter fans just have to head to veluxhandball.com and guess the score.
TEXT:
Björn Pazen / es / ts