The handball players from HSG Bensheim/Auerbach are in the semi-finals of the German championship. They are up against Borussia Dortmund – and want to do better than they did six weeks ago.
It’s already been a good season that the Bensheim Flames handball players have had. The elimination from qualifying for the European League still hurts and has also left its mark financially. In the German Cup, the team reached the final and only had to get there Borussia Dortmund were beaten 25:30. In the league it ended up in third place after 20 match days – one place behind Dortmund. Now the South Hessians are in the semi-finals of the playoffs. And the table constellation would like the opponents to come from BVB again.
Realistic chances of reaching the final
The first of three possible games is scheduled for Saturday (7 p.m.) in Dortmund. Whoever wins two games first plays in the final. And this is exactly what the Flames want to achieve now. The chances of that happening aren’t bad at all. “Everything is possible in a best-of-three,” says Michael Geil, using a phrase that nevertheless reflects the simple truth. “We have fulfilled our duty in the league, the final would be the crowning achievement,” added the Flames’ managing director, who will be resigning from his honorary position at the end of June. A farewell gift à la Endgame would taste really good.
A look at the results of this season shows that this goal is not unrealistic. Of the three matches in the league and cup, the Bensheim women won their home game at the beginning of October with 38:32. They had to admit defeat away from home (23:31) and the memories of the cup defeat six weeks ago are still fresh. But they’re not just bad. “We showed that we can keep up well with Dortmund,” says Meike Schmelzer.
The pivot was one of the most influential people in this last game. In the 45th minute she was sent off with a red card after a foul. At this point the Bensheimers were only one goal behind. “I was very sorry that we fell behind,” says Schmelzer, looking back.
Freestyle, yes, but still “all in”
But that means the past has already been put aside. “Now we have two new chances,” the 32-year-old has only one goal: “The fact that we are playing for the German championship is a reward for the season, but not just an encore. Of course we want to win.” The fact that the last two matches against Dortmund were lost is not a bad omen per se. “We didn’t show the best performances back then,” says Schmelzer. “Now we are more rested than back then and can go ‘all in’.”
Anything that happens in the playoffs would be a pleasant end to the season and good for the soul. “To come second twice and third once in the Final Four in the last three years is a shame,” says Geil, who admits that the early elimination in qualifying for the European League was also annoying. “That cost us ten percent of the season budget,” he calculates. In numbers, that’s 100,000 euros that didn’t end up in the club’s coffers due to a lack of income from additional sponsors and home games. A place in the final or even the title would make that completely forgotten.
Players don’t feel any pressure
The players also want to give it their all again for the outgoing managing director. “What Michael has done for the club cannot be given back,” muses Schmelzer. “But it’s additional motivation for the playoffs.” The handball players from Bensheim also want to offer their own fans another spectacle. In any case, the anticipation of the fans is enormous. 1,600 tickets have already been sold for the home game on May 2nd (6 p.m.) in the Weststadthalle, around 80 percent of the total capacity.
In addition to this acoustic and tangible support, one thing also plays into the South Hesse team’s hands: only the Dortmunders have pressure. As second in the table, they are not qualified for the Champions League. However, they definitely want to play again next season. To do that they would have to win the championship. The Flames, on the other hand, can go into the encounters completely unencumbered.
“We know where we come from, so it’s a huge deal for us to be able to play for the title,” says Schmelzer, who is also convinced of her team. “We probably have the best team that Bensheim has ever had,” she says, adding that she and her teammates can do anything. And a revenge against Dortmund would come at exactly the right time.
