Sport always writes beautiful stories. This was also the case on September 22nd in the QUARTERBACK Immobilien ARENA. On the 70th anniversary of SC DHfK Leipzig, two Leipzig home-grown players, Franz Semper (9 goals) and Lukas Binder (8 goals), played a significant role in the anniversary home victory against VfL Gummersbach. In addition, there were 9 goals from Luca Witzke, 15 saves from Kristian Saeveras and a solid team performance, so that SC DHfK was already leading 17:11 at half-time. In the end, the DHfK men, dressed in black and wearing their elegant special jerseys, celebrated a 34:29 home victory in front of 4,321 fans.
After a missed throw by national player Julian Köster, his DHB colleague Luca Witzke scored the first goal of the day on the other side, making it 1-0 for Leipzig. Binder and Semper gave Leipzig a 5-3 lead, and Witzke then scored to make it 7-4. The first ten minutes of the match clearly belonged to the home team, who approached the anniversary home game with great determination. But Gummersbach quickly responded and equalized in the 13th minute to make it 7-7.
The Leipzigers obviously took the equalizer personally, because from then on the DHfK men were no longer having fun. First Binder and Witzke scored, then Franz Semper scored two goals within 20 seconds and forced visiting coach Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson to take a time-out. However, VfL had a problem: Franz Semper had now really warmed up. The left-hander immediately slammed the next shot into the Gummersbach goal, completing Leipzig’s 5-0 run (12:7). At this point, SC DHfK Leipzig had an incredible shooting percentage of 85 percent. Since the defense was also really good, Kristian Saeveras saved several balls in goal and Semper contributed two more backcourt goals, SC DHfK pulled ahead to 15:9. This lead remained until halftime (17:11).
In the second half, nothing changed at first. Leipzig had the game completely under control and was leading comfortably 29:21 after 50 minutes. In the meantime, an 18-year-old was able to celebrate his Bundesliga debut for the Saxons. Goalkeeper Leopold Huber had slipped into the squad for the ill Domenico Ebner. In the 40th minute, his big moment came when he was allowed to step onto the pitch for a seven-meter throw. The debutant was unable to save Milos Vujovic’s penalty throw, but the talented goalkeeper will certainly remember the moment of stepping onto the field in front of over 4,000 fans in the strongest league in the world for a long time. The spectators in the well-filled ARENA were already getting into the mood for the victory celebration.
But somehow it seemed as if the DHfK handball players had already put a stop to this encounter. Suddenly the Gummersbachers were quicker to think, while the Leipzigers made a few unnecessary mistakes and lost the ball several times. Within the next six minutes, the nice 9-goal lead melted away dangerously. Four minutes before the end, the SC DHfK was only leading 30:28.
But the physical culture fans woke up again in time. Luca Witzke and Lukas Binder relieved the green and white fans with their goals to make it 31:28 and 32:28 respectively. The last Leipzig goal in this great handball game belonged to the man who played a very important role in this home victory on the other side of the field. Keeper Kristian Saeveras parried his 15th shot and then sent the ball straight into the empty Gummersbach goal. Now fans and team were finally able to celebrate the well-deserved 34:29 home victory – and can all see each other again in just four days at the next home game against the Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson (coach VfL Gummersbach):
“Congratulations on the win. We have to acknowledge that Leipzig was clearly the better team today and deserved to win. I am very disappointed with my team’s performance. In the first half, our retreating behavior meant we were never able to stop Leipzig’s counterattacks. In the second half, we tried to create a bit of chaos, but when we got closer, we made too many passing errors again. That’s why this victory is completely justified, even in terms of the scoreline.”
Rúnar Sigtryggsson (Trainer SC DHfK Leipzig):
“It was a very good first half for us in all areas. We had some players today who played really well, like Franz Semper in the first half or Kristian Saeveras throughout the game. Luca Witzke and Lukas Binder also had a very strong rate and Simon Ernst and Marko Mamic did a good job in defense. When Gummersbach brought chaos into the game, we weren’t cool enough to just play it down. Kristian saved us with his saves. Overall, though, I’m very happy with how we approached the game and how we ended up with the two points.”
SC DHfK Leipzig against VfL Gummersbach 34:29 (17:11)
Goals SC DHfK: Semper 9, Witzke 9, Binder 8, Rúnarsson 3, Klíma 2, Preuss 1, Mamic 1, Saeveras 1
Tore VfL Gummersbach: Vujovic 7, Blohme 6, Vidarsson 5, Köster 4, Mahé 3, Tskhovrebadze 1, Horzen 1, Zeman 1, Pregler 1
Seven-meter throws: Leipzig 3/3, Gummersbach 6/6
Parades: Leipzig 15, Gummersbach 11
Time penalties: Leipzig 12 min, Gummersbach 10 min
Spectators: 4,321 handball fans in the QUARTERBACK Immobilien ARENA
