SC Magdeburg and the Handball Champions League? It fits!
The defending champions celebrated their seventh success in their seventh match against bottom group RK Zagreb. But not everything went well for the coach in the 27:22 mandatory win.
You rarely see it in handball: Pack formation after a blatant foul on Kiel Star
First things first: This is a very special match for goalkeeper Matej Mandic (23). The Croatia international only came to SCM from Zagreb in August and was allowed to start against his former club from the start. In fact, Mandic will only leave for the Elbe next summer.
But with Nikola Portner serving a doping ban until December and it being clear that Sergej Hernandez – Mandic’s supposed replacement – would move from SCM to FC Barcelona after the season, the transfer was brought forward.
Mandic on reuniting with his ex: “I know every player, but they also know me – we’ll see how it goes.”
On paper, the division of roles is clear: first versus last. Six wins against six losses.
But the start was slow, after ten minutes coach Bennet Wiegert’s team had only scored three goals and even trailed against a clear outsider (3:4). Weil’s colleagues at Mandic were particularly critical of his replacement Haris Suljevic in the Zagreb goal.
After 20 minutes, Magdeburg only had a shooting percentage of 50 percent – which was largely due to Suljevic, who also saved two seven-yard penalties in the first half.
But Mandic was also successful in the box and provided a very strong game. Between the 15th and 23rd minutes the visitors remained goalless. The result: minimal goals at Getec Arena. Both teams said goodbye to the locker room with a meager 19 goals (10:9).
At the start of the second half, commentator Dyn Vincent Schuster spoke from the heart to the fans in the hall and on the screens: “I hope we see more goals than in the first half.”
At least the host followed his wishes. The first four goals in the second half were all scored by SCM. The foundation for victory.
In the win against Zagreb: SCM coach Wiegert folded his players
But coach Wiegert broke his neck on a timeout the visitors took in the 38th minute with 14:10 to go for SCM. The Magdeburg coach was completely irritated by his children’s lack of skills in attack and their meager production, and cursed: “Hey guys, stay with you. It has nothing to do with quality. It’s just pears! We throw the ball away in droves in a fast-paced game. Fuck you!” Shaking his head, he returned to the bench.
The players knew what to do, were more united and achieved a deserved victory. The best pitcher of the Magdeburg team was Sebastian Barthold with six strikeouts.
At least in terms of results, SCM is ready to face the Bundesliga cracker. On Saturday (8pm) the only undefeated HBL team will face league leaders SG Flensburg/Handewitt.
Super Saturday ends with a duel between champions Füchse Berlin and record champions THW Kiel (6 p.m./all live Dyn/display).
