Wanne’s last-second penalty hands Flensburg third place
SG Flensburg-Handewitt needed a draw in their final VELUX EHF Champions League Group Phase game to secure the coveted third spot in the group - and that is exactly what the German side got in the last second against HBC Nantes on Wednesday night: 29:29.
While Nantes did well to turn a five-goal deficit into a three-goal lead, the German hosts got the result they wanted thanks to a penalty from Hampus Wanne in the very last second.
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Nantes were still leading by three goals with only eight minutes left
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Flensburg finish third in the group, Nantes fourth
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Magnus Rød and Hampus Wanne both scored five goals for Flensburg, Valero Rivera also five for Nantes
GROUP B
SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) vs HBC Nantes (FRA) 29:29 (17:17)
A penalty from Hampus Wanne after the final buzzer secured Flensburg a draw and the third place in the group after both teams had dominated parts of Wednesday's match.
Valero Rivera benefited from a penalty to score the first goal of the match, but the next 15 minutes belonged completely to Flensburg. Through fast, yet patient attacking play, the home team got up 5:1, 8:3 and 11:6.
Slowly, however, Nantes tightened their defence and increased their efficiency in the attack. That was reflected in the score as the visitors were visibly catching up.
In the 42nd minute, David Balaguer equalised for 13:13, and the teams were still in the balance at half-time (17:17).
But 50 seconds into the second half, Nantes went 18:17 in the lead thanks to Eduardo Gurbindo. He also extended the lead for the French visitors to three goals (26:23) with 10 minutes left.
But from 27:24 down, Flensburg had a 3:0 run to level the score again. And while Olivier Nyokas powered through the German defense to give Nantes a 29:28 lead in the last minute, Flensburg had the final laugh as Wanne kept his cool from seven metres with the final throw of the match.
TEXT: Peter Bruun / ew
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