Germany:
In the north group, after the Gladbach HTC championship had already been secured, the focus was on the race to stay up in the league. Of the five teams still at risk of relegation, only three were able to book a meager point on Saturday. With Club Raffelberg and Blau-Weiß Köln, two participants met directly. Cologne’s Cedric Nagl (22nd) was able to equalize the Raffelberger lead by Mats Langhanki (E, 19th) to make it 1-1. Klipper Hamburg achieved a 2-2 draw at DSD Düsseldorf. The Bernstein brothers Luis (13th) and Leon (30th) brought Klipper to a 2-0 half-time lead, which Düsseldorf was able to make up for with Daniele Cioli (7m, 38th) and Juan Agulleiro (58th).
There was nothing to be gained for bottom light Braunschweiger THC at Schwarz-Weiß Köln. Things looked good for Lower Saxony at half-time with a 1-0 lead (Moritz Krantz/5th). But the Cologne double goalscorer Kai Aichinger (E, 33./53.) and Simon Wenzel (40./56.) turned it into a 4:1 victory for the home team. Marienburger SC really got under the wheels in Gladbach. First division promoted GHTC played in the style of a liberated champion and won 8:1 (5:0). Abdud Cassiem (5th/36th), Paul Tenckhoff (4th), Daan Schenk (21st), Rodrigo Castro (20th), Tobias Braun (30th), Andrew Hobson (35th) and Mustaphaa Cassiem (56th) contributed to the festival. Leopold von Nathusius (52nd) only scored for the MSC when the score was 0:7. Marienburg fell back to the penultimate place in the table, which, like the final position, is a relegation zone.
Schwarz-Weiß Neuss consolidated its second place in the table with a 2-1 away win at Großflottbeker THGC. The Hamburg hosts took the lead through Maksmylian Koperski (9th). Vincent Schornstein (E, 42′) and Bartosz Zaworski (60′) turned the game around after the break.
In the south, neither opponent made a single mistake in the duel for the title. Leader Zehlendorfer Wespen took the points with 4:0 (3:0) at SC Charlottenburg, who had already been relegated. Matti Sommer (6th), Theo Loddenkemper (E, 25th), Daniel Koschyk (27th) and Paul Philipp (35th) ensured the befitting success. It was harder for the Wasps pursuer SC Frankfurt 80. The Hessians were 2-1 down at TC Blau-Weiss Berlin, but were then able to win the much-needed 3-2 win. Moritz Bonanni (10th) and Mark Kopper (E, 20th) had given the hosts Berlin the lead from a 0-1 lead, but Frankfurt kept their nerve and took goals from Brian Philippsen (7th/49th) and Marc- André Sawall (E, 28th) still has the points. With another win on Sunday at Lichterfelde, Frankfurt would take over the lead in the table from the wasps, who were then free to play.
In the relegation battle, TuS Lichterfelde managed the big liberation. Late goals from Julius Kortenkamp (53′) and Fabian Posselt (7m, 58′) ensured the 2-1 victory over TG Frankenthal, whose goal came too late from Bastian Schneider (E, 60′). The Frankenthalers, who were also not secured before the match day, no longer have to worry about staying up in the league, because HG Nürnberg lost 3-1 in Stuttgart and, three points and seven goals behind Lichterfelde, has practically no chance of being saved. HGN took the lead through Luis Zenk (19′), but the Kickers responded three times through Lucca Epple (28′), Jonas Diesch (41′) and Sten Brandenstein (60′). With the home win and the simultaneous loss of points by Nuremberg’s HTC, Stuttgart secured third place in the table even before the last matchday. With a 0-0 draw against the NHTC, the Wiesbaden THC managed to stay in the league on its own.
Photo: Dagmar Posselt
