At 10.35 p.m. on Wednesday night, the feeling was full on Lake Constance. After a 31:30 win within the all-important third ultimate match in opposition to Onerous, the boys of HC Linz AG had been topped champions of the Handball League Austria for the primary time since 1996. They usually deserved it after a thriller that was virtually unbeatable when it comes to drama.
Deafening noise, a corridor stuffed to the brim with 2200 spectators, with over 100 Linz followers mingling and making a loud noise – from the primary second it was the extreme sport that was anticipated. However Linz held their very own from the beginning, after shedding 26:32 every week in the past and turning issues round with a assured 36:28 win at residence final Friday.
The Vorarlberg workforce, winners of the common season, needed to make do with out their injured playmaker Ivan Horvat, who’s out of motion with a torn muscle fiber. Linz additionally needed to get by a quick second of shock in the beginning. Sharpshooter Mislav Grgic injured his ankle in an motion, however was capable of proceed taking part in rapidly with tape. And his targets helped to make sure that Onerous hardly had any air to breathe. Fairly the alternative. As a result of veteran Christian Kislinger, who performed his final sport within the HLA, had his sights set notably sharply on seven-meter throws on this memorable night, and with goalkeeper Florian Kaiper, Linz’s protection was getting higher with each minute, Linz went into halftime with a 16:13 lead and a three-goal lead.
Picture: GEPA photos/ Oliver Lerch
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Picture: GEPA photos/ Oliver Lerch
They then even prolonged their result in 4 targets and seemed like they had been sure to be champions, however their throwing arm all of the sudden grew to become heavy. Onerous received inside one objective at 25:26. Kaiper prevented the equalizer with a save, however the sport continued to shuttle. Then the obvious choice. Jadranko Stojanovic gained a seven-meter throw. However Golub Doknic parried Kislinger’s throw. In return, Dominik Schmid scored the equalizer. After a timeout, Silas Wiesinger put the workforce forward once more. Earlier than 10 seconds earlier than the tip of normal time, Ante Tokic made it 27:27 with one other seven-meter throw and saved Tougher in extra time.
The place nerves had been frayed on either side. However Linz recovered with the luck of the courageous. First they made up a 27:29 deficit. Then they took the lead because of Wiesinger and Kislinger. Tokic shortened the lead once more, however this time it was not sufficient. Linz cleverly stored the ball of their ranks, the clock ran out and the eighth championship title was good. The Linzers’ celebrations knew no bounds after that.