Harsh setback
TBV become easy prey for the Lions
TBV Lemgo put in a performance that is better left unmentioned and lose 22:38 (7:17) against the Rhein-Neckar Lions.
In the game against the Rhein-Neckar Lions, TBV Lemgo played without Captain Sebastian Preiß, Ferenc Ilyés, Jens Bechtloff and Logi Geirsson. From the beginning, Tamas Mocsai directed things from the centre; Holger Glandorf and the flu-weakened Florian Kehrmann formed the right side. Martin Strobel began on the left wing, Michael Kraus on the left back and Vignir Svavarsson as pivot . After 6:38 minutes, for the first time Volker Mudrow had enough, he laid his green card at the score of 1:5. In attack, hardly anything went well for his team; bad throws and technical errors followed quickly one after another. And when the TBV coach changed the formation early on, it had no effect. The Lions pulled ahead to 1:8 as a result.
In the 14th minute, Carsten Lichtlein replaced Martin Galia in goal, who had been left in the lurch time and again - at first, it made no difference at all. In the 15th minute, Michael Binder brought it to 3:9; at least in defence, TBV played more consistently in this phase; meanwhile, Florian Kehrmann did a good job of covering the very strong Karol Bielecki. The 4,479 spectators in the Lipperland Hall got excited for the first time, when the team of Methe/Methe was extremely generous in giving the Lions free throws and failed to notice a crucial situation between Myrhol and Kehrmann, when the Norwegian pulled the TBV right wing to the ground long after the whistle. The game now got very hectic; Mueller gave Strobel a nasty elbow-check and deserved the two minutes he received. But it changed nothing about the fact that there were simply far too many minor errors by TBV in attack. In the 21st minute, Rolf Hermann scored to take it to 4:10. TBV did not get the clearest chances into the goal of Henning Fritz; a score of 5:13 (26) was the logical consequence. Even short-handed, the Lions time and again brought their back court players dangerously into play; as before, the best opportunities were missed. The half-time score was a resounding slap in the face for TBV and was clear proof of their lack of class. A screaming barrage of catcalls in the Lipperland Hall accompanied the team in its walk into the changing room.
At the beginning of the second half, TBV briefly concentrated on attack. Svavarsson scored for 8:17, but seconds later got a two-minute penalty. However, the Lions could not convert the ensuing penalty; Stefansson hit the bar with his lob. Short-handed, TBV once again scored, but the flash in the pan was then extinguished. After 40 minutes of play, the Lions led 12:25. Two minutes later at 14:25, Galia, who had replaced Lichtlein, caught brilliantly, but once more the ball was thrown to Henning Fritz without any pressure at all. And if things weren't going well for the Lions, sooner or later the ball went to Bielecki, who scored from practically every location. In the 48th minute, Kehrmann scored on the overlap from the wing for 17:27; but in the next attack, Olafur Stefansson was left completely free to shoot.
Nothing at all worked for TBV; Bielecki's 18:29 (49) from a good 12 metres out in the right lower corner was typical. Even with two more men, TBV always failed to get past Henning Fritz; it was exasperating. So things continued to take their bitter course for TBV, who finally had to accept a defeat they had never thought possible at this level.
Comments on the game:
Ola Lindgren: today we had a day when everything worked. In defence, we were very very mobile. With a run like that, it's difficult to lose. We didn't play very well in Minden but we still won, but we've had to take a great deal of criticism lately. That provided extra motivation for the team. Of course, you can't expect a performance like that every, when so many players have a good day at the same time. I am very very satisfied. I think it was our best performance of the season up to now.
Volker Mudrow: Congratulations to the Rhein-Neckar Lions; they earned the win and played well, of course. However, our performance is much more important and it has hit me hard. You can't already trail by ten goals at half-time and lose by sixteen. That's catastrophic and embarrassing. The spectators must be paid a compliment for remaining in their seats. Although we have consistently improved in recent games, today we fell apart against strong opponents; we were there for the taking. The bad thing is that I can't even explain this defeat properly.