TBV lays foundation for an EHF Cup victory with a 24:18 win

Comfortable six-goal lead for TBV

A top performance in defence and an outstanding Martin Galia in goal earn TBV Lemgo a six-goal lead for the 2nd leg against Kadetten Schaffhausen.

TBV’s opening line-up featured Martin Galia, Jens Bechtloff, Michael Kraus, Martin Strobel, Holger Glandorf, Florian Kehrmann and Vignir Svavarsson; in defence, Daniel Kubes and Ferenc Ilyés came on for Kraus and Strobel. Kraus netted the 1:0 in the very first minute of play after he sneaked a penalty shot past Gustavsson. At the other end of the court, Manuel Liniger failed in a similar attempt against TBV's Galia. Mait Patrail finally scored the equaliser (1:1) in the 4th minute, and Gustavsson in the Kadetten’s goal made two excellent saves against Strobel and Kraus. The game could go either way in this opening phase. Galia was also on top form, hence TBV only made it 2:1 in the 7th minute.

Glandorf’s second goal brought the score up to 3:1 in the 8th minute and enhanced the already fantastic atmosphere; TBV meanwhile played with concentration and a great deal of passion. It was once again a duel of the goalies: Galia saved a shot from Stojanovic in the 10th minute at which point TBV still held its 3:1 lead. Stojanovic managed to injure his back during this throw from the back position and initially remained on the ground before being led limping from the pitch – a sobering moment for the Swiss team. Kubes had to leave the pitch for two minutes after the 4:1 by Svavarsson (11th min.), and Filip subsequently attempted a shot from the outside right, which Galia was able to block with ease. Schaffhausen seemed somewhat at odds, letting Bechtloff get the 5:1 in (13th min.) when TBV was still outnumbered. This led trainer Petr Hrachovec to call his time-out after 12:40 minutes of play.

Galia was only overcome in the 14th minute when Filip turned a counterattack into the 5:2. Stojanovic then came back on for the Kadetten, but Galia continued to control the game, blocking a second penalty attempt thrown by Kukucka. TBV also committed errors in the offensive however and this would have allowed the Swiss team to get ahead had it not been for Galia. He blocked a shot made by Ursic from the circle, and Bechtloff subsequently got the 7:2 in (18th min.), which sent a ripple of excitement through the hall.

The Kadetten continued to seek out opportunities to get the ball to Ursic via leads over the circle, but TBV’s defence remained strong. Starczan scored the 9:5 after exactly 22 minutes after TBV twice failed to triumph against an on-form Gustavsson. Svavarsson then made it past three Kadetten players to net an energetic 10:5 during a suspected catch-up attempt by the Swiss team who found itself six goals down again just one minute later when Kehrmann scored the 11:5 in a counterattack.

Preiß came on for Svavarsson, but then had to leave the pitch almost immediately for two minutes. Meanwhile, Ursic slammed an uncompromising shot over Galia’s head to make it 11:6 (25th min.). Hermann was playing in the offensive alongside Ilyés at this point, and Schaffhausen had reduced TBV’s lead to 11:7. Patrail’s 11:8 finally made clear to all spectators that this game's outcome was in no way yet decided. Kehrmann also had to leave the pitch in the 28th minute for a time penalty, but the Swiss team then committed a simple technical error. Bechtloff scored a nice Kempa goal after a lead from Kraus to boost the score to 12:8, and Schaffhausen once again failed to prevail against Galia. Volker Mudrow called his time-out exactly 30 seconds before the break, but this did not allow for more than a direct free throw by Hermann that didn't made it past the opponents' defence anyway.

TBV began the second half with Kraus still in the left back position; Kehrmann took over from Schmetz who came back on once the time penalty awarded in the final minutes of the first half was up. Schaffhausen netted the first goal of the second half to make the score 12:9, and Strobel then had to sit out a time penalty awarded in the 32nd minute, an opportunity taken advantage of by Patrail to get the 12:10 in. TBV had to stay alert to stop the Kadetten from really getting into the swing of things. Ilyés sneaked the 14:11 in from the left back position (35th min.), but Schaffhausen continued to play unperturbed, as did Galia who successfully blocked a shot from Patrail (38th min.).

Kehrmann brought uproar to the hall when he slammed a rebound past Gustavsson to score the 15:11 with a dive shot (39th min.). Glandorf came back onto the pitch for Hermann after the 15:12 (40th min.) and Preiß followed after the 15:13 (41st min.). TBV still couldn't shake off the Swiss team though. Ursic was awarded the first time penalty for the visiting team in the 42nd minute when Tamas Mocsai (who had been battling a groin injury in recent training sessions) began warming up on the sidelines. Kraus boosted TBV's score to 16:13, but Stojanovic followed suit when the team was outnumbered to make it 16:14, keeping the teams neck and neck.

Gustavsson's foot hit Kehrmann in the face during the latter's counterattack in the 46th minute (18:14), and the Kadetten's goalie apologised immediately for what was in all likelihood an unintentional move. Schmetz came on for Kehrmann who initially remained on the bench after this blow to the face. TBV seemed to have the upper hand slightly during this phase; the visiting team committed a few simple errors in the offensive and repeatedly battled to get the ball to Ursic on the circle, as before. Mocsai had meanwhile come on for Strobel just in time to see Ursic net the 18:15 (47th min.).

TBV responded with a run of four goals (19:15, 20:16), but the Kadetten remained on the ball. Hopes of a good outcome to the game grew when Mocsai scored the 21:16 in the 50th minute from the second wave when Schaffhausen were a man down. But the Kadetten then managed to notch up the 21:17, and TBV passed up on two excellent opportunities, although Kehrmann then scored from the outside right despite extreme pressure (22:17; 54th min.). The fantastic 23:17 by Preiß subsequently led Hrachovec to call his time-out for the second half after 55:06 minutes had been played.

Patrail couldn't make it past the defence and Schaffhausen was all but powered out - apart from Gustavsson that is who blocked a shot from Kraus. Kukucka got the 23:18 in for his team, then Mocsai and Kehrmann got in the 24:18 (58th min.) with throws behind their backs. The spectators already got to their feet at this point to celebrate TBV's performance. 59:31 minutes had been played when Mudrow called his second time-out and talked tactics for what would probably be the last offensive. Although TBV ultimately missed its final opportunity, the Kadetten were unable to benefit from this, leaving TBV to go into the 2nd leg of the final due to take place in Switzerland this coming Saturday with a reassuring six-goal lead.