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River Rats: "Much effort, little return"

2023-03-24T11:11:07.498Z


The balance of ESC Geretsried after staying up on the last day of the game is mixed. It is unclear whether there will be a change in the team for the new season. In any case, coach Hans Tauber jun. held and a dangerous striker signed.


The balance of ESC Geretsried after staying up on the last day of the game is mixed.

It is unclear whether there will be a change in the team for the new season.

In any case, coach Hans Tauber jun.

held and a dangerous striker signed.

Geretsried – The performances of the Geretsrieder ice hockey team in the Bayernliga relegation round that just ended were well worth seeing – good goalkeepers, successful combinations, many shots, in between maybe a few mistakes in the backward movement or lack of concentration on the defensive too many.

The River Rats' balance sheet alone was sobering: they only won six of twelve games, and even lost five in a row in six home games.

The pattern was the same throughout: "A lot of effort, little profit," says coach Hans Tauber jun.

aptly.

In addition, there were regular compliments from the guest coaches and praise for the opposing goalkeepers who outdid themselves, which drove the ESC strikers to despair.

Significantly, the Geretsrieder only sealed the final relegation on Sunday evening in extra time: Florian Strobl scored the redeeming 4:3 in the 63rd minute of the match in Dorfen.

"It's not our aim to end the season in fifth place in the relegation round," emphasizes the coach in an initial conclusion.

It is extremely important for the club to remain in the top Bavarian division.

"But I would be happier if we had done it perfectly two weeks ago," admits the 37-year-old.

False start under the new coach Stefan Roth

The River Rats didn't really run smoothly from the start.

With the commitment of Stefan Roth from Peißenberg, a breath of fresh air should come in.

But the tactical and personal concepts of the young coach didn't really catch on - after a false start with five defeats in six games, a discussion with the team followed, Roth's resignation for private reasons and the commitment of Hans Tauber jun.

as head coach.

Under the direction of the long-time Geretsrieder defender things went uphill.

At the end of the preliminary round, the River Rats still had a foot in the door to the top eight, but the deficit in points could no longer be made up.

The club started the relegation round in a correspondingly positive mood and immediately recorded victories against Pegnitz (4:3), in Waldkraiburg (4:1) and in Buchloe (3:2 aet).

And things went well for the River Rats away from home as well, winning five out of six matches.

But at the latest with the 1:2 home defeat against Schweinfurt there was a certain break and especially in the Heinz-Schneider-Stadion the ESC lost four more times with only one goal difference.

Holdschik is "very relieved" about staying up

"Of course we didn't imagine it that way," explains Peter Holdschik.

In the end, staying up in the league was a “difficult birth”, admits the second chairman.

He was relieved that the team held the Bayernliga on their own with a very good performance in the very last match - "without the help of other clubs".

The problem, also recognized by the ex-professional, was the goal.

"Of course, the team played some good games, but you don't win with just one or two goals per game," Holdschik clarifies.

The former striker is also unable to say whether the lack of yield is due to fluttering nerves or a lack of experience or quality.

He also thinks of an example in the home game against Buchloe,

Strobl and Horvath are the top scorers again

As in previous years, goals and assists were shared across almost all blocks.

Florian Strobl and Ondrej Horvath were the top scorers with 45 points each.

For comparison: Marco Sternheimer from Königsbrunn already had 60 points on his account after the preliminary round.

Daniel Bursch (16 goals, 18 assists) benefited from playing in the first line of attack, while Dominic Fuchs, as the defender with the best points (32), lagged behind his very good quota from the previous year.

Marek Haloda was the most prolific defender and also a power play asset, but often too well-behaved on the ice with a slight tendency towards recklessness.

His Czech compatriot Jakub Rezac worked unobtrusively effectively on the defensive, but hardly scored any points.

While Xaver Hochstraßer made a leap in performance, the form of some other youngsters such as Paul Gania and Jakob Heigl stagnated.

The juniors Matthias Hölzl and Luis Huber showed that you can plan with them in the future.

This also applies to Johanna May: When the goalkeeper had to stand in for the still strong Martin Morczinietz for a longer period of time, she stabilized her performance enormously.

So it's not surprising that she was nominated for the German women's national team and is also part of the DEB squad for the World Cup in Canada in April.

Search for a goalscorer is at the top

On Sunday evening, after their return from Dorfen, the River Rats ended the season in the team room of the ice rink, during the week there were a few more relaxed training sessions on the program.

"I'll also speak to the team in the dressing room," explains Peter Holdschik.

Concrete talks with individuals would follow.

The team manager cannot yet say whether there will be a major upheaval.

"Of course we've had some thoughts.

But you also have to see if there are players who want to end their careers," said the 53-year-old.

When it comes to contract extensions, Hans Tauber will be his first point of contact.

"Of course we want to keep him as a coach," emphasizes Holdschik, who is also hoping for the commitment of his top performers.

When looking for newcomers,

there will be a certain feature in focus: "We need strikers who can score goals.

That was clearly our shortcoming this year.”

Source: merkur

All sports articles on 2023-03-24

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