HC Erlangen defeats the next top team in the league

In its final home game of the season, HC Erlangen again turned in a magnificent display for its fans, defeating the former Champions League winners and fourth-placed club Magdeburg by 31:29 in a furious encounter. In front of almost 4,000 spectators, Erlangen produced an impressive performance full of fight, passion and zest.

The opening spell belonged to HC Erlangen. The team of captain Michael Haaß picked up where it had left off against the Lions last Sunday. The compact 6:0 defense was tight from the throw-off and when Magdeburg managed to find a gap, goalkeeper Nikolas Katsigiannis was there to parry. Thanks to its focused play, Erlangen led 9:6 after 15 minutes. The former Champions League winners got into their stride as the game went on, fought back and tied the scores at 13:13 by the 26th minute. The final minute of the first half was furious. With the score at 14:14, Erlangen’s keeper Katsigiannis saved a seven-meter penalty from Musche and the pivot Sergej Gorpishin then put the home side ahead by 15:14 at the break with a beautiful goal.

The club from Franconia got off to the better start in the second half. Head Coach Aðalsteinn Eyjólfsson must have found the right words in the dressing room to prepare his team ideally for the second 30 minutes. The HC staged courageous attacks and produced focused defending for the entire encounter. The central block with Michael Haaß and Nikolai Link worked perfectly and everything also clicked in offense. Spurred on by playmaker Jonas Link, who had the honor of playing for one last time in front of the home crowd, Erlangen chalked up one goal after another and even stretched its lead to 25:19 in the 43rd minute. However, SC Magdeburg, who was in the EHF cup semi-final last week, did not want to go down without a fight and tried vehemently to avert the impending defeat. Pettersson closed the gap to 30:27 in the 57th minute. In crunch time, however, it was once more Katsigiannis who kept his team in the game. He stopped an amazing 38% of all shots on his goal, chalking up a sensational 17 saves and so making a major contribution to the victory. The HC finally ran out winners by 31:29 and afterwards celebrated its final home victory of the season with its fans on the court of the ARENA NÜRNBERGER Versicherung.

Aðalsteinn Eyjólfsson commented: “I’m incredibly proud of my team’s performance. I could not have imagined a better outcome in our last home game of the season.”

The HC’s Managing Director René Selke added: “It’s unbelievable that we’ve even gone one better so soon after the spectacular game against the German champions. What the players have achieved in the past weeks deserves great respect and really whets the appetite for the new season.”