Firstly, things turn out differently, and secondly, than you think: In the newly founded state league, season 6, of the Baden-Württemberg Handball Association, the men I of HSG Dreiland had planned to be at the forefront. The neighbors of SG Maulburg/Steinen, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with the relegation. Things turned out differently…
Now during the holiday break, the Wiesentals are shaking up the league, “overwintering” in fourth place, two points behind the top of the table. The three countries, on the other hand, were anything but consistent and only managed ten plus points after twelve games. As ninth in the table, you are lagging far behind your own expectations.
Eleven games, seven wins, only four defeats: SG Maulburg/Steinen thrilled its fans in the first half of the newly created national league. The SG is a real power, especially at home in the Steinen sports hall. All six home games were won, including the derby against HSG (27:26).
Coach André Leuchtmann remembers that we started the season rather weakly, but the longer the round went, the better it got. The SG is the only team from the south to have established itself in the top group, which is full of northern clubs.
Leuchtmann is putting the brakes on euphoria
“That wasn’t our goal before the start of the round. But we wanted to collect points quickly so that we didn’t slip down to the bottom,” said the player-coach. Especially since they didn’t know – like all the other teams – how to assess this new league. However, 14 points on the credit side show that the SG was serious about collecting points. “This interim result is nice, a ‘nice-to-have’, but there were also bad games. We also showed weaknesses,” says Leuchtmann, putting the brakes on the euphoria.
Leuchtmann remembers the many away defeats (“it would be great if we won two or three more”) or the not always effective offensive. “We should take one or two steps forward in attack,” he says. And even though the defense was usually very secure, he still pursued one or two approaches to make it even more stable.
According to the player-coach, they want to stay involved wherever they are in the table for as long as possible. “That means we have to maintain the level of the past few weeks. And then we’ll see what happens in the end.” In any case, you want to avoid negative relegation stress. After the good first series, you can play freely and develop further as a team. “It’s important that we get in well.”
Leuchtmann probably doesn’t really trust the roast yet. “There are some teams in this league that have better expectations. I also rate some of them better than their current position in the table suggests. It will definitely be an interesting second half of the season,” the SG coach looks ahead.
Dreiländer left too many points behind
Twelve games, six defeats, two draws and only four successes: things were anything but smooth at HSG Dreiland in the first half of the season. Coach Markus Schönmüller’s protégés appeared too unstable. The fluctuations in performance were too great even during a single game. And then there was some bad luck: three games were lost by just one goal difference.
“To be clear: We are not satisfied with our performance in the half series. We left far too many points behind,” the coach doesn’t beat around the bush for long. Most of the time the results were close and often things could have gone the other way. “In the end it’s our own fault that we’re not doing much better.”
The HSG certainly has the potential to be much higher; For example, she picked up a point from league leaders HSG Ortenau Süd. “I am of the opinion that we can beat any opponent,” says Schönmüller and underlines this with the way the game played. Except for the game against Freiburg-Zähringen, you always had the chance to win the game yourself.
However, it is also true that the HSG has far too rarely shown the determination, courage and, above all, the commitment to be successful. This is where the lever needs to be applied. Would you like an example? The final phase of the encounter in Heitersheim. In the last 20 minutes, the HSG turned up the heat and won the match that had already been thought lost with a 14:4 run.
By the way, this was the first game of the second half of the season. A good omen? “There was an enormous amount of will and passion and, above all, aggressiveness. We have to build on that, we always have to act like that. Then things will look different,” Schönmüller makes clear.
He hasn’t ticked off the top 5 yet. At least mathematically, third place in the table is only four points away. “Our motto is therefore: attack again and work our way forward little by little.”
It’s good that Jan Knössel is available again after a long break due to injury. New signing and left-hander Valerio Ruhlmann has already played two games and shown that he is a reinforcement.
