Defending champions Flensburg win overtime thriller to reach final

The battle was open until the last shot, but Elvar Jónsson failed to level the game with a direct free throw after the final buzzer. The top scorers in an intense but slow battle were Emil Jakobsen (eight for Flensburg) and Timo Kastening  (nine for Melsungen).

After his two goals in the semi-final, Barrufet needs one more strike in the placement match on Sunday to become the tournament’s top scorer. The match winner was Flensburg goalkeeper Kevin Møller with 18 saves.

SEMI-FINAL

MT Melsungen (GER) vs SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) 34:35 (15:16, 28:28) after overtime

• although they could not start their regular fastbreak-match-play, Flensburg extended the gap to 16:13 halfway through the first half, as Melsungen missed too many chances against strong goalkeeper Kevin Møller
• MT increased their efficiency and even took the lead at 17:16 with an initial double strike in the second half
• with goalkeeper Adam Morawski on fire and playmaker Eric Balenciaga leading the attack, Melsungen were dominant in the first part of the second half
• 10 minutes before the end, the score was equal at 23:23 — and both sides neutralised themselves with their extremely strong defences
• Balenciaga seemed to become the game changer: scoring once and assisting the two next goals, the Spaniard was mainly responsible for MT’s 28:27 lead just before the end of regular time
• with 25 seconds left and 28:28 on the score board, Kevin Møller’s 16th save provided Flensburg with the last attack — but Lasse Møller failed against Morawski, sending the game into the very first overtime in an EHF Finals semi-final
• the defending champions only needed four minutes to gain the first three-goal lead after the 23:20 at 32:29 — but again, Melsungen levelled the result at 33:33
• after Lasse Møller netted for the 35:34 lead, Melsungen’s Adrián Sipos failed in an empty net goal attempt — and finally Jim Gottfridsson blocked Melsungen’s last attack with his body, causing a free throw, which then again was blocked

Defence and Møller steer Flensburg to the final

Defence wins trophies — this old saying became true again in the first semi-final of the Maschinensucher EHF Finals 2025. Flensburg had scored 35 or more goals in seven of their 10 previous EHF European League Men matches, but against Melsungen, they could not run and score as usual.

Both defensive sides were perfectly adapted for their opponents in an intense battle in Hamburg. While initially Flensburg were ahead thanks to their variable attacking tactics, Melsungen restarted after the break with more speed after counting previously only on their back court shooters Elvar Jónsson and Dainis Kristopans.

When goalkeeper Adam Morawski improved, Melsungen took the momentum for some minutes, but Flensburg struck back with power. The match went back and forth until the final buzzer and even in overtime.

Thanks to Møller, Flensburg now can become the first team to defend their trophy at the EHF Finals — and also remained unbeaten in this European League season with now 11 wins and two draws.

Photos © Kolektiff Images