25.02.2021, 10:30
Flensburg come out victorious in crazy Match of the Week

MOTW REVIEW: After leading by nine at half-time, Flensburg had to wait until the very last seconds to secure their win against Paris.

Were Flensburg going to be able to steal Paris’ momentum in Match of the Week? Before travelling to the North of Germany, the French side had won its last five games in the Champions League, handing Kielce their toughest ever defeat in the competition on Tuesday along the way.

Paris had the opportunity, by winning in Flensburg, to close the gap to their opponent, as the German side were second in the group before this game, three points ahead of Paris.

In round 2, Flensburg won for the first time ever in Paris (29:28).

GROUP A

SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) vs Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA) 28:27 (19:10)

• Flensburg came out roaring from the dressing room. Strong defensively, sharp offensively and running around like crazy for the first thirty minutes, the German side was the only one you saw on the court. Gradually increasing their advantage, the hosts were ahead by nine at the break (19:10).
• The second half had a completely different outlook, as the French side defended much better, and were able to count on Vincent Gérard’s saves. Paris had many chances to make the score even in the last five minutes, but Benjamin Buric saved the day for Flensburg.
• The Bosnian Flensburg goalkeeper was elected Player of the Match, thanks to his 16 saves.
• Flensburg remain second in the group, two points behind Kielce, while Paris stand fourth.

With his nine saves, at almost 45% efficiency, the Flensburg goalkeeper was key to his team’s excellent start. With a nine-goal advantage, you would think he could rest on his laurels, but he did not. When Paris came knocking on the door in the last ten minutes, Benjamin Buric kept the German house safe, with previous saves against Kamil Syprzak and Henrik Toft Hansen, before stopping the equalizing shot from Nédim Rémili. A well deserved Player of the Match award.

TEXT: EHF / Kevin Domas