Two weeks ago, URW manager Werner Hahn saw the disadvantage that Graz had more home games in the semi-final series. Meanwhile the wind has turned. Because the Waldviertel won the second game in Graz, were 2: 1 in the “Best of Five” series and this week they have two options to fix the finals.
“This is not for the faint of heart,” says Werner Hahn. Because the semifinals between URW and the Grazers promise tight games again. Twice the Northmen cracked the Styrian bolt over the maximum distance. On Friday the guests were already back 1: 2 in sets on the way there.
Got into trouble after a good start
Graz got off to a better start. Led by Daan Streutker, the Waldviertler found their way into the encounter better and better. The locals then had nothing more to oppose, clearly lost sentence one. After that, the momentum fluctuated back and forth. Unnecessary technical errors got URW into trouble in the second set. In the third section, the guests pulled away through Martin Licek, but in crunchtime the Murstadt team fought their way back, took the lead for the first time at the end of the set and won it with 25:23.
Then sovereign in the showdown
Thus, despite good performance, the Northmen suddenly had their backs to the wall. But right now the mental strength of the Waldviertler became apparent. In the middle of the fourth set, URW gained a clear lead for the first time and didn’t give it up (25:20).
So showdown in the fifth set
Now little things would make the difference. Waldviertel submitted, Graz fought back. At 13:13 time out. This disrupted the flow of the Styrians. A sure sideout for the Northmen. Libero Martin Weber then fished a block rebound from the diagonal and top scorer Daan Streutker ended the game with his 28th point.
“If you make the first mistake, you lose”
“In the last sentence we were very confident, even if Graz, with a bit of luck, could compensate again with a net scooter”, Werner Hahn summed up. “All in all, these are very close games in this semi-final series. It’s really point by point. If you are the first to make two mistakes, you lose … “
Hahn agrees that the Northmen keep up at such eye level: “With the young team. In terms of personnel. ”Smejkal was able to send his top six onto the field for the first time in the semifinals because Evangelios Vaiopoulos, Pavel Bartoš (both ankles) and Maciej Borris (knee) bit through. “But they just bite through, are not fully fit,” stresses Hahn. “That’s why these are all fighting games. In the end, it doesn’t matter how you win the games in the play-offs. But we don’t play as we can. “
Focus on fitness
Accordingly, the physio team has been strengthened to prepare for the next games. “If you want to compete against a top team like Graz, you need fit and healthy players, otherwise you have no chance,” says coach Smejkal.
And insist, that’s what URW definitely wants against the Styrians. “We will now do everything in our power to win one of the two games and advance to the final,” said Hahn, setting out the route. “Both teams are at eye level, but we will again take full risk on service and so hopefully make everything clear at home on Wednesday.”
For titles against Aich / Dob or for bronze against Amstetten
Wherever the Waldviertler travels: The next opponent is already certain. The third semi-final game between Aich / Dob and Amstetten was canceled due to corona cases in the Lower Austrians, but there will not be a supplementary date at the request of the Amstetten, who were already 0-2 behind in the series. So Aich / Dob is back in the final, fighting for the third championship title in a row. Against the Northmen? If not, there will be a Lower Austria derby for the bronze medal.
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