Andersson's 12 goals steer Füchse past Kielce in MOTW; Magdeburg beat Dinamo

Lasse Andersson contributed a stunning 12 goals to Füchse's triumph over Kielce, after the hosts had led the MOTW for most of the game until the visitors took command in the closing stages. In Bucharest, two-time champions Magdeburg already did the damage in the first half, building a five-goal lead against a team that sometimes looked "like zombies," as Dinamo head coach David Davis put it during a team timeout.

• Füchse celebrated their fifth away win of the season, as their six-goal advantage over Kielce gave them a strong foundation for their road to the quarter-finals
• Füchse's Danish left back Lasse Andersson was named Player of the Match
• the MOTW marked the third time this season that Andersson scored a double-digit figure in a single match, after scoring 13 against Paris Saint-German Handball and 12 against Fredericia Håndbold Klub in the group phase
• Dinamo left themselves with a mountain to climb following their 30:26 loss against Magdeburg, the fourth straight home defeat for the Romanian side in Europe's top flight
• the only previous time Dinamo appeared in the play-offs, in 2022/23, they lost against another German side, THW Kiel
• Magdeburg earned only their second away win of the season; in the group phase, they defeated Kielce 29:25 but otherwise had five defeats and a draw in away games

PLAY-OFFS, FIRST LEG

MOTW: Industria Kielce (POL) vs Füchse Berlin (GER) 27:33 (14:12)

Kielce opened the MOTW firing on all cylinders, backed by their eager fans. And the team in yellow and blue made the atmosphere in the arena even warmer as a couple of saves by Milosz Walach and two goals from Dylan Nahi put the hosts up by three (4:1) after three minutes. But Füchse did not take long to react. Powered by Lasse Andersson, who scored three of his 12 goals in the first quarter, and making the most of their opponents’ turnovers, the German side came back within one (9:8) just as the first quarter ended. None of the teams was able to take the upper hand before the break. While Dylan Nahi netted five in the first 30 minutes, Lasse Andersson even scored one more, as Kielce went to the dressing room leading by two: 14:12.

While Kielce’s Milosz Walach was in the spotlight in the first half, his counterpart Dejan Milosavljev stood out after the break. The Serbian goalkeeper helped Berlin first make up for their deficit and then go into the lead i the 43rd minute. With Lasse Andersson barely missing anything, Füchse took the lead when the Dane scored his 10th goal. The German side’s advantage was three goals a couple of minutes later, forcing Talant Dujshebaev to take a team timeout. But Kielce were not able to derail Berlin’s train in the last phase of the match. The German side increased their advantage to six goals and even missed a chance to take a seven-goal lead home as Milosz Walach saved Tim Freihöfer’s last attempt.

Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU) vs SC Magdeburg (GER) 26:30 (11:16)

Despite the Dinamo fans having turned up in numbers to support the hosts, Magdeburg enjoyed the best start in the game. With Felix Claar on fine form and making the most of their opponents’ offensive difficulties, the visitors took an early three-goal advantage (6:3) after nine minutes. A team timeout taken shortly after by Dinamo head coach David Davis didn't change much as his players struggled to find solutions against SCM’s tight defence. After five minutes without goal, Haukur Thrastarson finally manage to get past Nikola Portner, but by then the visitors were already up by seven, 11:4. SCM did not let their foot off the pedal for the rest of the first half and headed back to the dressing rooms leading by five: 16:11.

The break did not give the opportunity to the Romanian side to really gather their thoughts. They first failed to narrow the gap to four goals when Branko Vujovic missed his seven-metre throw. Magdeburg remained in control with Albin Lagergren and Felix Claar their main offensive assets. The difference between the two teams remained between four and six goals throughout the last quarter, as Ómar Ingi Magnusson answered each goal scored by Alex Pascual or Frederik Ladefoged. Only in the last three minutes, the Romanian side was able to come closer on the scoreboard and Yoav Lumbroso reduced the deficit to three goals before Gisli Thorgeir Kristjansson scored one last goal to give Magdeburg a proper four-goal advantage (30:26) before the return leg in Germany next week.

main image © Tomasz Fafara / tomaszfafara.pl