SC DHfK Leipzig bids farewell to the summer break with a home win

The Bundesliga handball team SC DhfK Leipzig have gone into the summer break with a home win. The team of coach Runar Sigtryggsson defeated Rhein-Neckar Löwen 29:24 (16:14) in the last game of the season on Sunday. Viggo Kristjansson was the best scorer for SC DHfK, who finished eighth in the final standings with 33:35 points. The Icelander scored seven goals.

6,000 spectators in the sold-out arena witnessed a fast-paced start to the game. Seven goals were scored after just five minutes. The Rhein-Neckar Lions countered the 3:4 deficit with three goals in succession to make it 6:4 (8th minute). However, Leipzig then got a better grip on the game because it stabilized its defense considerably and goalkeeper Kristian Saeveras became ever stronger.

After the Norwegian made saves, the home side repeatedly scored on the break and pulled 14:10 ahead by the 24th minute. Thanks to the impressive international Juri Knorr, however, the Lions reduced the deficit again slightly by the break.

The pace initially slowed down considerably in the second half. Leipzig were too static and repeatedly failed to score against national goalkeeper David Späth. The visitors took advantage of SC DHfK's weak spell and equalized through Tobias Reichmann to make it 20:20 in the 43rd minute.

However, the game did not turn completely. Spurred on by their fans, Leipzig stepped up its intensity and also improved its play in attack. They produced a 5:1 run between the 50th and 58th minutes to pull 28:23 ahead. They thus set the stage for the emotional farewell to center Maciej Gebala, who will play for league rivals HC Erlangen in the future after six seasons with SC DHfK. With Oskar Sunnefeldt, Tim Matthes, Moritz Strosack, Mika Sajenev and Pascal Bochmann, five other players are leaving the club in the summer.