The SC DHfK Leipzig handball team started the second half of the Bundesliga season with a defeat. The team coached by Runar Sigtryggsson lost narrowly 23:24 (9:12) at fourth-placed TSV Hannover-Burgdorf. The best scorer for SC DHfK, who now have 14:22 points, was Andri Runarsson with eight goals. New winter signing Stephan Seitz scored two goals on his competitive debut for Leipzig.
The long break was clearly noticeable for both teams in the first half. Technical errors and hasty finishes were the order of the day. Although Leipzig managed to turn a 2:4 deficit (9th minute) into a 6:4 lead (16th minute) with a 4:0 run, it was repeatedly thwarted by goalkeeper Joel Birlehm, who still played for SC DHfK between 2019 and 2022. At the other end, ex-Hanoverian Domenico Ebner also put in a strong performance in the Leipzig goal. However, the Italian was not able to prevent his team from trailing by three goals at the break.
Ebner's saves were not enough
The club from Lower Saxony got off to a much more energetic start in the second half and quickly opened up a 16:10 gap (35'). However, the visitors fought their way back into the game. They disrupted Hanover's flow of play with their offensive cover and now also made more consistent use of their chances.
After a 4:0 run, Leipzig was suddenly close again in the 53rd minute (20:21). Ebner became an important factor with his saves in the final spell. Lukas Binder tied the scores at 22:22 in the 57th minute. Leipzig's Simon Ernst was handed his third time penalty with 75 seconds remaining and Renars Uscins converted the seven-meter penalty to make it 24:23 for Hanover. The visitors' last attack fizzled out.
Copyright 2025, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved
