08.03.2017, 08:42
Flensburg beat Schaffhausen to close in on Veszprem in Group A

GROUP A REVIEW: German league leaders SG Flensburg-Handewitt overpowered a stubborn Schaffhausen side to move within a point of Veszprem, whom they visit in the last round of the VELUX EHF Champions League Group Phase.

Flensburg beat Schaffhausen to close in on Veszprem in Group A

A flowing team performance allowed Flensburg to break down a plucky Kadetten, and give themselves a fighting chance of leaping over Veszprem into third position when the two sides meet in the final round’s MOTW clash.

Kadetten, who only had pride to play for as they are guaranteed to finish bottom of the group, matched their more illustrious rivals in every department for long spells, but ran out of steam towards the end.

• Balanced attack helps Flensburg beat Kadetten 31:26
• Goalkeeper Andersson in superb form for the home side
• Versatile shooter Pendic on fire for battling visitors
• Veszprem and Flensburg will clash for a third-place finish on Saturday

Group A
SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) vs Kadetten Schaffhasuen (SUI) 31:26 (15:14) 

A strong push in the final 10 minutes of an entertaining encounter gave Flensburg an emphatic, although somewhat flattering, home win over Kadetten, as the Swiss side matched their more illustrious rivals for three-quarters of the match in northern Germany.

The result left Flensburg in fourth place with 15 points from 13 games, one behind Hungarian giants Veszprem ahead of their mouth-watering MOTW clash on Saturday.

Kadetten, rooted to the bottom of the table with only two points, had little more than pride to play for but were able to bow out with their heads high after giving Flensburg a good run for their money.

The opening half produced a rollercoaster as the lead changed hands several times, and Kadetten showed they would not roll over after carving out a 12:10 advantage in the closing stages of the half.

However, the home side turned the tide and got themselves ahead before half-time as their goalkeeper Mattias Andersson, who shone throughout the game, pulled off several superb saves.

The visitors again edged into an 18:17 lead early in the second period before Flensburg turned the tables on them for good. Led by Andersson, as well as Serbia winger Bogdan Radivojevic and Holger Glandorf, the German champions powered ahead 24:21 with the last quarter of the game approaching.

One last roar from Kadetten, whose sharpshooter Andrija Pendic was unstoppable, enabled the visitors to slash the deficit to 24:23 before a 5:0 run by the home side ended the Swiss outfit’s resistance.

Pendic, effective on the wing as well as in back court, excelled for Kadetten with a game-high nine goals from as many shots, as Lucas Meister added five.

Radivojevic was Flensburg's top scorer with seven goals from nine shots, while Glandorf and line player Henrik Toft Hansen netted six each.

TEXT: Zoran Milosavljevic / ap