Frisch Auf Göppingen defend their title
Frisch Auf Göppingen defend their title
Dancing on the court, cheered by their spectators, German side Frisch Auf Göppingen have defended their title in the Men’s EHF Cup by winning the second leg of the final 34:28 (15:14) following their 26:26 draw away at HB Dunkerque from France. Thanks to this final victory FA Göppingen qualified directly for the new EHF Cup.
They were singing and dancing and they celebrated with their fans. 5,000 spectators in the sold-out arena in Göppingen the players of Frisch Auf were cheered by their spectators after winning the second leg of the Men’s EHF Cup final. After a tough and close first half the German side decided the game in the first 15 minutes of the second half – and were really satisfied when EHF representative Frantisek Taborsky, Chairman of the Methods Commission, handed over the trophy.
Dunkerque played well – especially in man advantage situations - in the first 30 minutes. Led by Sebastien Bosquet (who was injured and missed the first leg), Baptiste Butto and Lanon the French team was on eye level with Göppingen. 100 French fans shouted for their team in a very intense first half. Dunkerque played very clever in the first half with a tough defence on the Göppingen shooters like Momir Rnic.
Three minutes before the half-time buzzer the score was 13:13, as Göppingen had lost their rhythm completely. But thanks to a double strike of Rnic Göppingen took the lead again.
The decisive period of the match were the first 15 minutes of the second half. As the Göppingen defence, including superb goalkeeper Benjamin Rutschmann (15 saves), improved and Dunkerque missed too many chances, Göppingen extended the gap to three goals for the first time at 19:16. From that moment on the French team was out of the race – and Göppingen extended the lead to 22:17 in minute 42 and 24:18 in minute 46. The match was decided, as Dunkerque could not cope anymore with the Germans. In the meantime the distance extended to seven goals, with the resistance of Dunkerque ending completely.
Latest at the 31:24 in minute 56 the game was decided – and the Göppingen bench started to celebrate to defend the title they had won in 2011 – the 14th time a German team have won the Men’s EHF Cup.
