SC Magdeburg wins East derby against SC DHfK Leipzig

SC Magdeburg gained momentum for the difficult task in the Champions League at FC Barcelona with a win in the East derby against SC DHfK Leipzig. Four days before the top-flight clash in Spain, SCM won 35:29 (18:14) against Leipzig in the Bundesliga. As a result, the German double winners, who have played one game less, remain at the top of the league with 10:2 points.

The outstanding SCM scorer in front of 6,600 spectators in the sold-out Getec Arena was former Leipzig player Philipp Weber with ten goals under the watchful eye of national coach Alfred Gislason. Viggo Kristjansson (9/6) scored the best for Leipzig.

"We had a bit of trouble playing the 5:1, but then it was dominant what we put on the board," said SCM coach Bennet Wiegert. "We missed a lot of things. We didn't get into a fast-paced game at all. Our defense, goalkeeping and attack weren't good today," said a disgruntled Leipzig coach Rúnar Sigtryggsson.

The visitors from Leipzig began with an offensive 5:1 defense in order to disrupt the Elbe club's running routes early on. However, that did little to impress the SCM. Goalkeeper Sergej Hernandez, who had recently been the match winner against SG Flensburg-Handewitt with 16 saves, was again strong at the back. He then gave the home side its first two-goal lead of the game (5:3) with a direct shot on goal after twelve minutes. But Weber, who had not been considered for the DHB team recently, also got off to a strong start, scoring his fourth goal after just a quarter of an hour to give his side their first four-goal lead (9:5). But the Saxons were not able to shake off any more until the break.

Almost the same picture after the restart: Magdeburg impressed with the better goalkeeper ratio and also had the better marks in terms of shooting effectiveness. As a result, SCM kept SC DHfK at bay. In the 44th minute, Omar Ingi Magnusson even managed to open up a five-goal lead with a Kempa trick (25:20). SCM then pulled further away.