The Füchse Berlin surprisingly failed in the round of 16 of the DHB Cup against the Rhein-Neckar Löwen. The Berliners lost in Heidelberg with 29:30 (16:12). The Foxes had previously won their last eight competitive games against the Lions. The quarter-finals will take place on the 18th/19th. December, without the team from the capital. The best Berlin thrower was Tim Freihöfer with eight goals, while for the Lions it was Ivan Martinovic with ten goals.
The guests from the capital took the lead in the game from the start. But in contrast to the last duel two and a half weeks ago, when the Foxes won by a clear 34:27, the Lions were much better defensively. The Foxes made a few missed throws. Lasse Andersson in particular failed several times against the strong Lions keeper Mikael Appelgren.
The decision is only made with the final siren
In the 17th minute, national player Juri Knorr celebrated his long-awaited comeback after an injury break for the Lions. But after recovering from a broken thumb, the 24-year-old was initially unable to revive his team’s game. As a result, the lions made a few bad throws that punished the foxes. With a 6:1 run before the break, the Berliners pulled ahead for the first time (16:10).
But after the break, suddenly nothing worked for the Foxes and the team completely lost track. Slight ball losses and a few missed throws brought the hosts back into the game. The Lions were also lucky that the referee duo allowed the hosts to be very harsh and did not punish some of the Lions’ fouls.
In the 42nd minute, the Lions turned the game around and took the lead for the first time (22:21). Now it stayed tight until the end. The decision was only made with the final siren when Andersson missed the last throw.
