With 15 goals, Mathias Gidsel was by far the man of the hour for Berlin in the Max-Schmeling-Halle on Thursday evening, and with just three matches to go, the Bundesliga title is now Füchse Berlin's to lose.
However, the capital city club cannot afford any slip-ups in the fiercely contested final sprint of the season: The defending champions SC Magdeburg are lurking in second place one point behind, closely followed by Melsungen (two points behind), who are also dreaming of their first championship title.
To the match centre: Füchse Berlin vs. MT Melsungen
"MT Melsungen and we have earned the right to play a top game at the end of the season," explained Füchse Head Coach Jaron Siewert before the game. To be in such a position shortly before the end of the season is "outstanding", said MT goalkeeping coach Carsten Lichtlein, who is currently back between the posts at the age of 44 due to Nebojsa Simic 's injury.
Foxes pull away after tight opening phase
However, the 2007 world champion initially had to watch from the Melsungen bench as his nephew, Füchse playmaker Nils Lichtlein, scored the first goal for the home side.
There wasn't much to separate the two teams in the beginning of the match, with Berlin keeper Dejan Milosavljev in particular showing top form in the early stages. Among others, Ian Barrufet failed to beat the goalkeeper with a seven-metre penalty right at the start.
Berlin then gradually got into their stride. The defense stood firm at the back and at one point the hosts pulled ahead by seven goals.
"We have to close the gaps faster. We're not doing it the way we discussed it," criticised MT centre Adrian Sipos during half-time. However, Melsungen initially found no means against Füchse, who did not let up in the second half either.
Gidsel in particular was still virtually unstoppable scoring 15 goals from 19 attempts.