25.01.2023  DHB-Pokal

Road to REWE Final4: Wetzlar dreams of the fourth final tournament, Flensburg of the fifth title

On 15/16 April the big premiere will take place in the LANXESS arena: After 29 years in Hamburg, the winner of the REWE Final4 will be awarded for the first time in the cathedral city - eight clubs are still in the race, which have a total of 28 German cup titles on their tally and also represent all cup winners since 2015. All eight quarter-finalists have reached the cup final at least once, and six teams are even in the winners' list of the competition, which has been held since 1975.

The third part of the series about the four quarter-final pairings this time revolves around the duel in the far north, where SG Flensburg-Handewitt will host HSG Wetzlar on Saturday, 4 February (18:00 CET). While the visitors have only made it to the REWE Final4 three times, the Flensburg side has already made it to the final 13 times - but they only won four final games.

Below THW Kiel, the SG was the second club to achieve a Cup hat-trick in Hamburg in the years 2003 to 2005, followed by the fourth triumph in 2015. In the all-time table of the German Cup, SG is on par with TBV Lemgo Lippe and VfL Großwallstadt as joint third below record winners Kiel (12 titles) and VfL Gummersbach (5) - these two teams also still have the chance to win jump on the train to the premiere in the LANXESS arena in Cologne.

While Flensburg are regular guests at the REWE Final 4, it was almost a miracle when second division club HSG Dutenhofen/Münchholzhausen reached the Final 4 in Hamburg in 1997 - although the predecessor club of HSG Wetzlar could not complain about a lack of luck at the draws, because on the way to In the final there was not a single duel with a first division team, and on the way to Hamburg it were only trips to the East - Dessau, Rostock and Eisenach were the opponents. In addition, both Kiel and Flensburg missed the Final4. In the semifinal another second division competitor was waiting for Wetzlar, and with the 22:20 over Bad Schwartau the HSG fulfilled their dreams, qualified for the final against the big TBV Lemgo - but then the 23:28 defeat meant the end of all hopes. Almost all hopes, because by reaching the final, they became the first German second division team (which relegated in 1998) to qualify for the European Cup. And that's where Rainer Dotzauer's team turned up the heat, made it into the final against Santander from Spain, but lost these games.

In 2001 HSG Wetzlar made it again to Hamburg, prevailed against GWD Minden in the semifinal - and lost the final again, this time 22:26 against sensational winners VfL Bad Schwartau. For the third and last time - at that time under the legendary coach Kai Wandschneider - HSG qualified for the REWE Final4 in 2018, losing the semi-final against TSV Hannover-Burgdorf.

In the long history of the German Cup since the first final tournament in Hamburg in 1993, there have been only three duels between SG Flensburg-Handewitt and HSG Wetzlar. In the round of 16 2006/07 Flensburg won 38:28 at home, in the third round of the 2011/12 season HSG lost 27:29 after extra time after a great fight at home, in 2013/14 there was the only duel in the quarterfinals up until this year, which Flensburg clearly won away 25:19. But as HSG Dutenhofen/Münchholzhausen, they managed a historically clear 28:16 victory over SG in the third round of the season 1998/99.

After renaming - first HSG D/M Wetzlar, finally HSDG Wetzlar - in 1999, both teams faced 53 times, 50 of them in the league. And the record is clear: 45 SG wins, two defeats and seven draws. In the current LIQUI MOLLY HBL season, both games have already been played, in Wetzlar Flensburg won 27:22, in the home FLENS Arena there was a 34:24 shortly before the turn of the year. But the cup has its own rules, as is well known - even if the last HSG victory against SG (24:21) dates from October 2015.

Schedule for the German Cup quarter-finals:
Saturday 4th February 2023:

18:00 CET: SG Flensburg-Handewitt vs. HSG Wetzlar (live on Sportdeutschland.tv)
18:30 CET: TSV Hannover-Burgdorf vs. Rhein-Neckar Löwen (live on Sportdeutschland.tv)
19:00 CET: VfL Gummersbach vs. TBV Lemgo Lippe (live on Sportdeutschland.tv)
Sunday 5 February 2023:
15:00 CET: THW Kiel vs. SC Magdeburg (in Hamburg. live on Sky)

The draw for the semi-finals, which will take place in Cologne on 8 February and will be broadcast on the LIQUI MOLY HBL Facebook and YouTube channels.

The REWE Final4 2023 for the German Cup will take place on 15/16 April for the first time in the LANXESS arena Cologne. Traditionally, the two semi-finals are on the agenda on Saturday. On Sunday, fans can expect the match for 3rd place and then the final of the REWE Final4 2023.
Tickets for the REWE Final4 are available at: rewefinal4.de

Photo: Anderson-Jensen