Füchse and Göppingen sail through to EHF Finals Men, as Granollers eliminate Flensburg

The second-tier European competition, the EHF European League Men, had fiery clashes in the quarter-finals, with tables turned and huge surprises delivered in the four doubleheaders, which decided the four tickets to the EHF Finals Men, which are due to take place in Flensburg on 28 and 29 May.

Two German sides, Füchse Berlin and Frisch Auf Göppingen, will try to extend Germany’s domination in the competition. Spanish side Fraikin BM. Granollers and French side Montpellier HB, which sealed their tickets in the second legs of the doubleheaders, complete the full card.

The biggest shock came as the potential hosts of the EHF Finals Men, SG Flensburg-Handewitt, were knocked out by Fraikin BM. Granollers, after taking a 31:30 away win in the first leg in Spain. As they welcomed back centre back Jim Gottfridsson, Flensburg went down early and never managed to come back in their third game in four days, after they had previously finished on the third place in the German Cup last weekend.

Failing to deliver anything, both in attack and in defence, Flensburg were handed their worst home loss in European competitions in 12 years (27:35) and were knocked out of contention, as Nigerian right back Faruk Yusuf, who will feature next week at the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, and Spanish veteran Antonio Garcia Robledo each scored nine goals.

It was Granollers’ only third away win this season, with the Spanish side earning back-to-back away wins in the knockout phase of the EHF European League Men after winning a single away game in the group phase from five attempts.

Down four goals after the first leg against Kadetten Schaffhausen (33:37), Füchse Berlin engineered a comeback in the second game, where they took a six-goal win (30:24), backed by 10 goals from right back Mathias Gidsel, the top goal scorer and MVP of the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship.

It was a 63:61 aggregate win against the plucky Swiss side, which had an outstanding performance in the doubleheader from Icelandic right wing Odinn Thor Rikhardsson, who scored 21 goals over the two games, with 15 coming in the first match.

Back-to-back wins saw Frisch Auf Göppingen qualify for the business end of the EHF European League Men for the first time since the 2017/18 season, with the German side clinching a clear 63:50 aggregate win over Croatian side RK Nexe, the most significant margin in this phase of the competition.

Last but not least, the EHF Finals Men card is completed by Montpellier HB, which sealed a 31:30 win over Sporting CP on their home court after the first leg ended in a stalemate (32:32). French right back Julien Bos scored seven goals for Montpellier, which have lost a final, in 2014, in the second-tier European competition.

The EHF Finals Men will take place on 27 and 28 May in Flensburg, with the semi-finals being decided by a draw. 

18 of the last 21 trophies have been won by German sides, with Barcelona, Pick Szeged and SL Benfica being the odd ones out. Frisch Auf Göppingen are the team to have won the largest number of trophies, four, as many as SC Magdeburg and THW Kiel, while Füchse Berlin have sealed the big prize twice.

EHF European League Men – quarter-finals
Füchse Berlin (GER) vs Kadetten Schaffhausen (SUI) 63:61 on aggregate
RK Nexe (CRO) vs Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER) 50:63 on aggregate
SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) vs Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP) 58:65 on aggregate
Montpellier HB (FRA) vs Sporting CP (POR) 63:62 on aggregate

Photo: Mike Kessler