The present is less glorious, but this Monday the club of former greats such as Heiner Brand and Jo Deckarm, Erhard Wunderlich and Hansi Schmidt is once again entering a stage that corresponds to the great self-confidence. On Monday (December 30th, 2019) the second league top game will take place in the Dortmund Westfalenhalle Sport-Verein">ASV Hamm-Westphalia (7 p.m.).
Gummersbach could advance to second place
With a win, the Oberbergische would displace their opponents and be behind leaders HSC 2000 Coburg climb to a promotion place at the beginning of the EM break that lasts until the end of January. “So far the first round has gone well and if someone had told us before the season that we were up there, everyone would have signed it.”, said VfL right winger Tobias Schröter.
The team suffered a setback on Christmas Day 2 when they played in a duel between two old champions TuSEM Essen lost 24:29.
“We have so far failed to prove that we can beat a top team,” the coach Torge Greve, who came in the spring, complained afterwards. In the home hall at Heiner-Brand-Platz 1, his team has so far been unbeaten.
Bitter descent in summer
What was the drama last summer when the Gummersbachers relegated on the last matchday after 53 years. That was enough for the twelve-time champion 25:25 in relegation SG BBM Bietigheim not because the owls Ludwigshafen after a 31:30 against GWD Minden were equal for a tie after 34 match days.
Over 7,000 cards sold
By Monday, more than 7,000 tickets had already been sold for the game on Monday. Hamm’s trainer Kay Rothen Players is looking forward to “a real handball highlight” at the end of the year.
In the 1970s and 80s, the Westfalenhalle was the living room of the Gummersbachers, who moved from their small Eugen-Haas-Halle to the Ruhr area, especially for European Cup games. VfL legend Brand raved in the “Ruhr Nachrichten”: “Even if it is no longer the most modern, the Westfalenhalle still exudes a special atmosphere today.”
Status: 29.12.2019, 3:03 p.m.
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