The Füchse Berlin have had a successful start to the season. However, the Berliners had more trouble than expected in their first game of the Handball Bundesliga. “We are of course relieved to have survived this hell here. We knew it would not be an easy ride,” said coach Jaron Siewert after the 41:35 defeat at ThSV Eisenach.
“We would have liked it to be different,” said Siewert, criticizing “that we didn’t put the lid on it earlier.” So it wasn’t a nail-biter in the end, but the bravely fighting hosts stayed in the game for a long time. “They gave us a lot of tasks. They do it really well, they’re extremely well-rehearsed. Not comparable to other teams,” the Füchse coach praised the opponent.
In the end, it was the outstanding offense that saved the first victory. World handball player Mathias Gidsel (12 goals) was once again reliable, and left winger Tim Freihöfer also shone with a 100% shot yield – twelve goals in twelve attempts. “It could probably have been the best game. Of course, I’m happy when I can put in a performance like that and help the team,” said the 22-year-old.
Too many goals conceded
Nevertheless, not everything is going well for the Füchse. “41 goals is also incredibly good. But we concede too many at the back,” said Freihöfer, describing the dilemma. With Max Darj, an important player in the center is still missing, and new signing Lukas Herburger is not yet fully integrated. The coordination is still lacking. “There are so many duels, one-on-one situations, where we don’t always close down consistently,” said Siewert.
The victory in Eisenach “cost an incredible amount of energy,” said Freihöfer. But there isn’t much time for recovery. The Füchse will start their Champions League match at home against the top Hungarian team Veszprém HC (8.45 p.m./Dyn) on Thursday – after an eleven-year break. “I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to show ourselves there,” said Gidsel.
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