22.05.2021, 10:30
Füchse make it to their fourth-straight final

SEMI-FINAL REVIEW: Lasse Andersson steers Berlin to their semi victory against hosts Rhein-Neckar Löwen with eleven goals

After the score read 2:2 Berlin were constantly ahead, at one stage the gap was even at eight goals - but then Füchse Berlin were challenged by EHF Finals hosts Rhein-Neckar Löwen. Finally, the 2015 and 2018 EHF Cup winners profited from Danish shooter Lasse Andersson and the saves by Serbian goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev. While Füchse qualified for their fourth straight final after 2017, 2018 and 2019 (and their in total fifth after 2015), Löwen missed the great chance to become the first ever EHF European league winners after they had become the first EHF Cup winners in the new format in 2013. 

Füchse will face SC Magdeburg for the EHF Finals trophy on Sunday at 20:45 CEST, while and Wisla Plock play for the third position at 18:15 CEST (both live on EHFTV). 

SEMI-FINAL: 

Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER) vs Füchse Berlin (GER) 32:35 (16:19) 

• Füchse Berlin grabbed their chance to profit from ten black minutes of Löwen to forge ahead from 2:2 to 11:3, mainly thanks to Fabian Wiede and Lasse Andersson, but also due to an enormous number of Löwen mistakes.   
• But the hosts managed to strike back by accelerating, a much higher efficiency and counter-attack goals to reduce within ten minutes from 6:13 to 15:17.   
• The high-speed game continued after the break, and Füchse even played quicker compared to Löwen - and thanks to counter-attack goals and some saves of goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev.   
• Twelve minutes before the end, Icelander Ymir Gislason received a red card after his third suspension – which hurt a clearly weakening Löwen defence.   
• Finally top scorer Lasse Andersson (eleven goals in total) sealed the deal, when he netted the 33:30 and the 34:31.  

Fourth ever all-German final since 2013 

Since the season 2012/13, when the newly merged Men’s EHF Cup started and the winners were decided in a final tournament, only once did a German team fail to make the final: in 2014, in Berlin, when Szeged beat Montpellier to become the only non-German EHF Cup winners since 2003. In all remaining six finals of EHF Cup Finals German teams won. Tomorrow, the first EHF Finals gold medal match is composed of two German teams after Magdeburg had beaten Plock 30:29 before. For the fourth time since 2015, only German teams fight for the trophy: In 2015, Füchse beat Hamburg in the final, in 2017 and 2019 Füchse lost against the respective hosts Göppingen and Kiel. 

TEXT: EHF / Björn Pazen