Hamburg win at Flensburg

HSV were 14-12 behind at half-time but rallied in the second half to seal a big win in front of a near-capacity 5,878 crowd.

Flensburg's Oscar Carlen top-scored with seven goals, but Hamburg trio Hans Lindberg, Marcin Lijewski and Bertrand Gille weighed-in with five apiece.

The sides traded scores until just before the break, when the hosts established a two-point lead that they extended to 15-12 at the start of the second-half.

But a good passage of play midway through the second period saw Martin Schwalb's visitors take control of the match and they subsequently led until the final whistle.

The second leg will be played in Hamburg on April 3.