SC Magdeburg after being eliminated from the Final Four: “It just hurts”

With their heads hanging low, the Magdeburg players led by Magnus Saugstrup and Gisli Kristjansson walked off the court at Cologne’s Lanxess Arena. In front of 20,122 spectators, the German champions lost 35–40 to the Füchse Berlin, thus missing out on the final and the chance to defend their title. “Right now, I’m just very, very sad. It just hurts right now, and I’m trying to pull myself together,” said SCM veteran Matthias Musche.

Wiegert misses out on twelfth title in ten years

Coach Bennet Wiegert, who missed out on his twelfth title in ten years, analyzed the game immediately. An intercepted Kempa attempt by Berlin’s World Handball Player of the Year, Matthias Gidsel, became the turning point of the semifinal: The SCM missed a potential two-goal lead and then failed to score for several minutes. “For me, that’s the key moment,” said Wiegert, adding: “The Kempa has helped us many times this season; no blame for that.” 

Musche said, “A Kempa like that has a 90 percent success rate; they defended it well—and in the end, it’s just one situation out of 60 minutes.” The Dane Saugstrup saw it the same way. “We can’t just say that’s the reason. The game lasted 60 minutes, and there are many things we can do better,” Saugstrup added. His coach would have liked to see a bit more cleverness and more saves from the goalie at the end to walk off the court as winners.

Last game for captain Christian O’Sullivan

So after the intercepted Kempa trick, Berlin went on a 5-0 run—they just wanted it more somehow. After all, following last year’s final defeat against Magdeburg, they are aiming for their first Champions League title. Nevertheless, according to Wiegert, the SCM has had a tremendous season. He emphasized, however, “that it doesn’t feel like it at all right now.” Looking ahead to the third-place match, the championship-winning coach noted that it is now important to “make the right adjustments to do the event justice.” In the third-place match, the Elbe City team must hold their own against the Danish representative Aalborg.

It is the final appearance in SCM jerseys for captain Christian O’Sullivan, national team player Tim Hornke, and goalkeeper Sergey Hernandez. A total of seven players are leaving Magdeburg.