Flensburg end painful losing streak against Motor

Two consecutive losses, including a home one against Zagreb, saw Flensburg backed into a corner this season, but the German team bounced back with a convincing win against Motor.

The Ukrainian side are seeing their season in Group B somewhat tougher than in previous years when they played in Groups C/D, as they are winless after four games.

• Norwegian right back Magnus Röd was Flensburg’s best scorer, with eight goals
• Motor hope to halt their losing streak against Zagreb on their home court next week
• The German side will travel to Szeged next week

GROUP B
SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) vs HC Motor Zaporozhye (UKR) 31:24 (13:11)

A 4:1 run to start the game looked like exactly what Flensburg needed to snap a two-game losing streak that plagued the German outfit.

But their woes continued even against the winless Motor, who quickly picked up the pace and engineered their own 5:2 run to shock the hosts, taking a 9:7 lead.

Three consecutive goals from Polish back player Piotr Paczkowski saw Motor keep the lead, yet the Swedish connection of Jim Gottfridsson and Simon Jepsson managed to turn the game on its head, taking Flensburg to a 13:11 lead at half-time.

A sustained run from veteran right win Lasse Svan, who scored three goals in the first ten minutes of the second half, helped Flensburg keep Motor at bay.

But a 3:0 run, sparked by Norwegian right back Magnus Röd, was decisive in the end. Motor could not cope with Flensburg who rode to a 31:24 win to take Motor to a four-game losing streak.

The victorious coach Maik Machulla was relieved to come out on top, "We are very happy to have these two points today. It was a hard game, especially after the last two games in the Champions League. We are very happy today."

Motor's Denysov Zakhar remained focussed despite his side failing to pick up their first win of the season, "First of all congrats to Flensburg for the victory. For sure we have a lot of games ahead and we have to keep working hard. Nevertheless we have to be more concentrated and then we will be more successful the next time."