HTC SW Neuss starts the indoor hockey season under 2G conditions

Start of the Bundesliga
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Indoor hockey doesn’t work without a spectator

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The stadium hall during a Bundesliga hockey game in Neuss before the corona pandemic. Anyone who wants to witness the comeback of black and white in the German House of Lords on Sunday must be vaccinated or tested.
Photo: Woitschützke, Andreas (woi)

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Neuss Under 2G conditions, the hockey Bundesliga starts its season under one roof at the weekend. Only those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered are allowed on the stands in the stadium hall. HTC SW Neuss is all about staying in class.

On Saturday, a little more than a year and ten months after the promotion to the Bundesliga with a 4: 3 win in Bonn, the HTC SW Neuss is in the hall on Lehnerstrasse as a guest of the HTC Uhlenhorst Mülheim (4 p.m.) ) his comeback in the upper house of the German hockey elite. The next day, the champion Rot-Weiss Köln will come to the stadium hall on Jahnstrasse (6 p.m.).

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“And the boys are all up for it,” says coach Matthias Gräber. If only there weren’t the worries and uncertainties that returned with the fourth corona wave. Anyone older than twelve years (according to the new Corona Protection Ordinance, children and adolescents up to their 16th birthday) is only allowed into the hall in Mülheim if he or she has been vaccinated or has recovered. In addition, the mask requirement applies in the entire hall (including on the seat) and tickets can only be purchased online. Rules that apply similarly on Sunday in Neuss, only tickets are still available at the box office. Even the most sophisticated hygiene concept cannot take away the fear of getting infected anyway. As far as the further course of the season is concerned, Gräber is therefore skeptical: “We have been lucky so far – not a single Corona case in months, dead, toi, toi! All are vaccinated. But we should enjoy it as long as we can … “

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Because the situation in other clubs is more tense, “everyone has somehow positive cases”, he doesn’t really trust the roast. Even excluding the spectators from the games would be the fatal blow for him, “because indoor hockey lives from emotions. We in Neuss in particular need the backdrop. How else are we supposed to keep up in this league? ”That applies above all to the two opening games: The first five of the Mülheimers in Timm Herzbruch, Lukas Windfeder, Malte Hellwig, Julius Meyer and Ferdinand Weinke only consist of senior national players. The German champion from the cathedral city is led by two top stars on the German and international hockey stage in Mats Grambusch and Christopher Rühr. “We are the absolute underdog in these games,” explains Gräber. “The newcomer is playing against the title contender. It’s a completely different sport. In order to really get something that can be counted, everything would have to fit together with us. We should play ourselves into a frenzy – and be very lucky. “

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So there are no games that are decisive for staying in class – and that’s what it’s all about for HTC this season – but still have their value for Gräber: “This way we can get used to the much higher pace without pressure.” His tip: “We should also celebrate the little things – every goal and every corner.”

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The duels that are really important in the fight against relegation are played by the Neuss team with Blau-Weiß Köln, the Crefelder HTC and the Düsseldorfer HC. Especially the team from the state capital could be packed this time. There coach Sebastian Folkers recently got his papers, in the hall Mark Spieker, who is otherwise responsible for the Bundesliga girls as co-coach, and the injured veteran Clemens Oldhafer stand on the sidelines. The failures of Dominic Giskes (assistant coach) and ex-Neusser Julius Hayner (replacement), who have been in action with the U21 national team since Monday at the World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India, are painful. BW Köln is sending its team of Olympic champion Jan-Marco Montag (38), which has been tried and tested for years, into the race. The tactics in these comparisons are already knocking out Gräber: “You have to keep them busy for the first 20 minutes and really get going afterwards.” It looks different against Krefeld. “They are a bit better than us.”

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He would have liked to have had Gracjan Jarzynski with him, but he plays for Poland at the U21 World Cup. His compatriot Jacek Kurowski, who was already under contract in Neuss, is also not available for the hall, as is captain Jan Mausberg (internship at Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart) and Ben Dammer, who has to undergo an operation on his knee in December. There was still a bit of a crunch in preparation, but Gräber is counting on “that the young team will learn from week to week.”

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