Dresden. The farewell is a successful one from a sporting point of view – and emotionally disturbed. The handball players of HC Elbflorenz defend their strong fourth place in the 2nd Bundesliga in the last home game of this very special season. The Dresdeners prevailed against SG Bietigheim in the local ball arena on Sunday evening with 33:24 (14: 9) and literally rolled over the opponent under the roof of the hall in tropical temperatures.
However, the opponents from Baden-Württemberg had previously sat on the bus for seven hours. There are certainly fitness-promoting activities in humid weather conditions like this one. “It was no longer about anything for us, and arriving one day before would still be very difficult, even under the current Corona conditions,” said guest trainer Brian Ankersen apologetically. “We just ran out of batteries at some point in the game. After a long season, ”added the coach of the table eighth.
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Points record and 1,000 goals mark
After a fairly balanced start phase (9: 9/20), very little worked out at Bietigheim. Of course, this can also be attributed to the tireless efforts of the Dresdeners. Therefore, HC trainer Rico Göde was full of praise for the consistently committed performance of his team. With 40:30 points, they set a new club record in the second division, and the professionals will crack the 1,000-goal mark in the last game of the season next Saturday at Bayer Dormagen. Also for the first time in their club history. Now there are 996. Aue of all places (39:31 points) could best dispute fourth place for HC Elbflorenz. Großwallstadt is not out of the running either. Hamburg and TuS N-Lübbecke are through – have been promoted to the Bundesliga.
Almost all of the 698 paying spectators in the Dresden Ball Sports Arena wear the mouth and nose protection correctly. Fans were also allowed to attend the last home game of the season, subject to certain conditions. © Photo: Kairospress / Thomas Kretschel
But the end of the season feels huge for Dresden too. “I’m proud, just proud. Crazy ”, Göde described his feelings after the sweaty game. “That was a good game, we knocked out everything that was possible again, lit a fire for 60 minutes,” said the 39 year old. And basically nobody can be singled out. With the exception of Julius Dierberg, all twelve field players entered the goal statistics – once again Lukas Wucherpfennig (8/4) was particularly noticeable, followed by Sebastian Greß and Jonas Thümmler (5th).
Tears of men to say goodbye to Dresden
The latter played another major role – after the final whistle. Almost all of the 698 paying spectators who are re-admitted stayed in the heated arena. HC Elbflorenz said goodbye to four players from the squad. Including Jonas Thümmler, goalkeeper Tom Göres, right winger Nils Gugisch after his cruciate ligament operation and Michal Kasal, who was not present. “We gave a platform to those who played their last home game for us today. I’m very pleased – nice, thank you, ”said Göde in a nutshell.
Four players were officially bid farewell to HC Elbflorenz before the game (from left): Tom Göres, Nils Gugisch and Jonas Thümmler as well as Michal Kasal, who was not there on Sunday. © Photo: Kairospress / Thomas Kretschel
Of course, a few real man’s tears were crushed during the emotional farewell. “There were a lot of emotions down there, of course,” said Göde. The only native of Dresden at HC Elbflorenz uses the opportunity of the positive sporting hour to once again point out the exceptional situation for all clubs. Nobody would want a season like this again. The former professional means the unsightly restrictions on visitor capacity, positive corona tests for more than half of the team, crippling quarantine and somewhat more severe illnesses.
“We had a season that we all didn’t like so much,” he says – and still draws a positive conclusion after the first year without relegation worries: “We seem to have done a lot of things right on many points. To be there with 40 points today is absolutely unique for us. But we are also pleased how this achievement came about. I think that we presented very good handball and simply developed further both in the back and in the front, ”explains the head coach.
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