The championship decision in the 3rd Bundesliga is postponed. After 14 wins in a row, Bruck's handball panther was hit against opponents Horkheim. At the starting position for the next top home game next Saturday against Pfullingen, the 29:32 (18:17) loss does not change much.
Fürstenfeldbruck - Martin Wild has never seen such scenes in his long career as a player and coach: Although his TuS handball players missed the 15th victory in a row, they were once again for almost ten minutes after the game by the almost 1,000 fans completely sold out Wittelsbach Hall celebrated with standing ovation. He got goose bumps there, says Wild. And even the ex-national player and Panther noble fan Dominik Klein said: "I stood there with a pee in my eyes on the stands."
The reaction of the fans was obviously the right medicine for the panthers. Because as Wild reported, he felt in those minutes after the defeat how the big disappointment of the players changed in spite of. "Suddenly they had a smile on their face again." The coach himself quickly recovered from the now unfamiliar feeling of standing there empty-handed. Wild announced briskly: "Now we're going to hit Pfullingen and then we'll tear down the booth here." Indeed, the only thing that changes as a result of the bankruptcy is that the Panthers now definitely need a win against Pfullingen in order to win To make championship fix. After the Swabians also won their game against Kornwestheim, the Bruckern would have been given one point if they won.
Against Horkheim, the Panthers initially played well. But after about ten minutes, Wild realized that his players could not completely ignore the situation. For the first time in the club's history, the panthers finally scratched their claws at the championship cup. "We couldn't really get rid of it." Before the game, Wild had also pointed out that Horkheim's player equipment could be dangerous to the Panthers - as in the first leg, which was also lost. In fact, the group from the Heilbronn district caught a cream day against the Panthers for the second time this season. They skilfully prevented the dreaded speed game of the Brucker. In addition, goalkeeper Yannick Hölzl surpassed himself and clearly outshone his opponents Markus Winkler and Michael Luderschmid.
It was not helpful that Johannes Stumpf, who was very strong in the beginning, buckled early and was therefore spared for a long time. At least after the game, the back room player was able to give the all-clear: "It was just a moment of shock, it is half as wild," he said about the condition of his ankle. Still, he was clearly missing the panthers. Wild only risked another assignment in the final phase. That didn't change anything about the defeat. The master thriller continues.