Magdeburg overcome Anaitasuna to reach Finals

Helvetia Anaitasuna looked as if they were about to cause serious trouble for SC Magdeburg in the first half the EHF Cup Quarter-final second leg, as they caught up five of the seven goals they were down from the first leg.

However, Magdeburg managed to take control in the end and win the second match by three goals.

• Anaitasuna had their biggest lead at 9:4, while Magdeburg had their biggest lead at 32:27 and 33:28.
• After Frisch Auf Göppingen and Füchse Berlin, Magdeburg become the third German team to qualify for the LIQUID MOLY EHF Cup Finals.
• No less 11 players scored for Anaitasuna, while 10 players scored for Magdeburg.

QUARTER-FINAL, SECOND LEG:

SC Magdeburg (GER) vs Helvetia Anaitasuna (ESP) 35:32 (15:18)

Magdeburg will join fellow German teams Frisch Auf Göppingen and Füchse Berlin in the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals. However, at one point, the Bundesliga team seemed to be in danger of being sent out of the competition despite having won the first leg 34:27.

From the start, Anaitasuna seemed to believe in their chances to catch up with Magdeburg’s seven goal lead after the first leg.

After Magdeburg led by one goal at the start, the visitors took over, and after taking a 5:3 lead, they went ahead 9:4.

At this point, the Spanish side had caught up five of the seven goals they were down after the first match.

After this, Magdeburg managed to reduce the deficit to two goals. However, Anaitasuna persisted, taking four-goal lead again, which was reduced to a three-goal lead by half-time.

The guests did not keep their three-goal lead for very long in second half: slowly, Magdeburg took over.

Anaitasuna lose their lead

Almost five minutes into the second half, Mads Christiansen equalised to make it 20:20, and just 18 seconds later, Christian O’Sullivan took the lead back for the hosts.

From that point on, Magdeburg left no doubt about the outcome of the second match. Indeed, they went five goals up for a time, but in the end Anaitasuna managed to limit the defeat to three goals.

Norwegian international Christian O’Sullivan scored six goals for Magdeburg, while Mikel Garcia scored six for Anaitasuna.

Anaitasuna had no less than 11 players on the scoreboard, while 10 players scored for Magdeburg.