Blinding second half lifts Füchse past Aalborg in MOTW
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Gabriel Eduafo Quansah
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The Match of the Week in the first-leg Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2024/25 Quarter-finals lived up to its billing, as Füchse Berlin pulled off an incredible second half to beat Aalborg Håndbold 37:29 on home ground in Germany.
While Mads Hoxer and Niklas Landin took the spotlight in the first 30 minutes, it was Mathias Gidsel who led the charge for Berlin and, with 11 goals, gave Füchse a commanding lead ahead of the rematch in Denmark next week. With his nine assists on top of the goal count heating up Max-Schmeling-Halle, the Player of the Match award once again went Gidsel’s way.
the sheer number of attacking mistakes hampered any possible progress for Berlin early in the game, as they relied only on Tim Freihöfer and Gidsel
goalkeeper Niklas Landin was a cornerstone of Aalborg’s six-goal lead midway through the first half, boasting six saves at a 39 per cent save rate
Berlin looked to be in trouble, but Lasse Ludwig rose to the occasion, stepping in to replace Dejan Milosavljev and making three consecutive saves to give new life to his teammates; Berlin closed the gap to 14:15
the fairy tale continued — Berlin stepped up a gear in the second half, turning a one-goal deficit into a six-goal lead (32:26), while Aalborg’s attack fizzled
even a red card for Berlin’s key defensive player Mijajlo Marsenić could not shake their momentum — Füchse kept Aalborg at arm’s length throughout their dominant spell and clearly won the home tie
Hoxer, who recently came back from a shoulder injury, was Aalborg’s top scorer with seven goals, while Aleks Vlah and Kristian Bjørnsen netted four each
Mathias Gidsel and the hunt for Cologne
While goalkeeper Ludwig gave Berlin a crucial boost between the 25th and 35th minute, it was the back-to-back IHF Player of the Year and Player of the Match Gidsel who delivered a performance to remember.
Gidsel closed the first half with three goals but truly shone in the second, playing a vital role as Berlin clawed their way back from a deficit. He sparked a 3:0 run at the start of the second half, then a new one between the 42nd and 45th minutes to make it 27:24, battling fiercely against some familiar faces from his national team. With a trademark spectacular spin shot in the final minutes, the Danish right back came one step closer to his first TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 appearance, and the second one for Berlin.
After lifting the EHF European League trophy in 2022/23 and finishing as runner-up a year later, Gidsel and Berlin seem like a match made in handball heaven — so much so that in February 2025, he extended his contract until 2029.
We won a quarter-final with eight goals. What can I say? We are really happy. The beginning of the game was not like we wanted to. They have a great goalkeeper with [Niklas] Landin. We missed a lot of shots in the first half. But how we recovered from this deficit, I am really proud of my team. The atmosphere and energy came back. In the second half, we played more like we want to play our game, with fast ball movement in the attack and the counter attack. The result is a bit unfair for Aalborg because I think it was closer.
For us it is a big mental challenge for the game in Aalborg, to be prepared and not to be satisfied at all. We have to bring the same to go to the [EHF] FINAL4 in Cologne. It is a good chance and in handball we saw everything. We will prepare well.
Jaron Siewert
Head coach, Füchse Berlin
It was an amazing atmosphere and a tough match. We got a really good start but then we got trouble in our defence. Of course, once again Mathias Gidsel played amazing. He caused us a lot of trouble.
Of course we are very disappointed right now. We hoped for a better result.
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