The HSG Wetzlar is on the brink, of all teams against SC Magdeburg there will be a final against relegation. A look at the club’s history from 19 years ago is encouraging.
Millimeters can make the difference between relegation or staying in the league. In the HSG Wetzlar game in Hamburg on Thursday evening, Wetzlar’s goalkeeper Andreas Palicka fished a ball from the line or just behind it in the final phase. Even the slow motion couldn’t resolve it that precisely. But the referees decided on a goal for Hamburg. Equalizer, 31:31. And in the end, the Central Hesse team lost by one goal difference – 32:33. Wetzlar is now level on points with its competitor Minden and is still ahead of the relegation zone. A real relegation thriller awaits on the last matchday on Sunday. And the HSG meets the best team in the country, the German champions SC Magdeburg.
So trembling instead of staying in the league, finals instead of relaxation. The mood at HSG is correspondingly high after the match point was missed in Hamburg. When asked how it works, HSG managing director Michael Allendorf first has to blow it. “We could be doing better,” he says after a pause. “We had the opportunity to decide ahead of time. But it doesn’t help now to think about what if…”
Ahouansou lets the ball out of his hand
Little things mattered in Hamburg, not just the controversial goal line decision. Shortly before the end, in the 59th minute and with the score at 32:33, Philipp Ahouansou, of all people, made a technical error when the ball missed him. “It was super dramatic in the last few minutes. We were never really able to break away the whole game,” said Ahounsaou, who otherwise played a good game with seven goals.
The final point of the game was telling: Wetzlar took a timeout two seconds before the end. But the discussion of the very last attack was a problem because the players had to wait a long time for the goalkeeper. He is rarely present during timeouts, but of course had to be instructed at this moment for the final passes. “Palle, Palle, Palle,” the teammates shouted frantically. But the last plan didn’t work either. It was too late.
A bitter bankruptcy, but one that Allendorf wants to banish from people’s minds as best as possible. “Now it’s the case that we don’t have much time before the next and all-important game. That’s why we’ve been preparing ourselves as well as possible for the game on Sunday since this morning,” said Allendorf. “We believe in our chance. Two more days and then it’s all about.”
Last game against the champions
Just stand The signs are now worse for Wetzlar: Although the team has the better goal difference, they face a tougher opponent. Competitor Minden plays away against Leipzig, who have already been relegated. The HSG has to play at home against the new German champions and reigning Champions League winner SC Magdeburg. For the SCM, the league is no longer about anything and the Champions League Final Four next week could potentially be in the back of their minds. But: Magdeburg under coach Bennet Wiegert is known for going all the way to the end and not letting up. The team only lost one game the entire season.
And so it takes an extraordinary performance from the HSG, on several levels. First of all, sporty. “We have to perform at our best in all areas,” says coach Rúnar Sigtryggsson. “We lost in Hamburg, but we actually play strong handball. We have to go one better.”
Allendorf: “…then I know what can happen here in the hall”
And then also mentally, in interaction with the fans. “Everyone who enters the hall has to believe in it. Nobody is allowed to enter the hall and think: The big SCM is coming, it won’t work anyway. Then it won’t work,” says Allendorf, setting out the route. “If that’s the awareness on Sunday, starting with the team, it will quickly spread to the fans. And then I know what can happen here in the hall.”
A look into the past gives the Wetzlar team hope: once, 19 years ago, there was an all-or-nothing game on the last match day against Magdeburg. There as a player at the time: Michael Allendorf. The result back then: 30:29 for the HSG, who kept the class with the win.
“The signs were identical. The Magdeburg team at that time was also full of stars. We were gross underdogs and had to win,” said Allendorf. “We did it there too, together with the arena, together with the fans. Every player believed in it and then we managed it.” Probably no one in Wetzlar would mind if history repeated itself this Sunday.
