The pass couldn’t have been much more precise. The ball only dropped just before the six-metre line and it was thanks to Milos Vujovic’s enormous speed that he was able to get hold of the game device at all, let alone get it under control and almost artistically placed it in the goal. From the very first minute, the left winger and the rest of the foxes showed that they wanted to pick up exactly where they left off last Saturday’s game against Göppingen against Leipzig. With a lot of speed, the Berliners won the catch-up game from the 23rd matchday with 37:31 (22:18).
However, it was not as easy on Thursday evening as it was a few days ago. Foxes trainer Jaron Siewert had already warned in advance of a highly motivated team that would arrive “with a knife between their teeth”. Because although Göppingen is 13 points behind the better-placed Berliners in fifth place, it still has pole position among the other European League contenders, which the Baden-Württembergers would like to defend in the close field of pursuers.
And they showed these ambitions on the floor. With a good overview, few mistakes and a generally very high level of effectiveness, the guests managed to pose defensive problems for the foxes again and had already scored 18 goals by the half-time whistle. One reason for this, however, was the foxes’ poor retreat behavior, which again had to accept goals from the fast middle. Nevertheless, coach Jaron Siewert’s team went into the break with a plus of four. Because the Berliners were even more effective and could also rely on the better support of their goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev. Starting with Milos Vujovic, through his always sovereign wing partner Hans Lindberg, to Fabian Wiede, who strengthened the foxes’ attack by an important component with his goal threat on the right backcourt.
“We did well in attack, but less well in defence. It’s good that we can rely on Dejan,” analyzed Lindberg. “It’s really fun again in front of the scenery here.” But what made the game stand out for him was just as much a strong team performance. Siewert was able to distribute the load in the backcourt without causing major breaks. The only sticking point in the squad at the moment is the rotation position, where after Johan Koch the newly committed Igor Vori was injured and his replacement Jann Keno Jacobsen was also absent, so that Ron Yunis Dieffenbacher from the A-Youth had to step in. A pressure that Mijajlo Marsenic, as number one in this position, absorbed very well.
In the second half, Göppingen shortened the lead, helped by a somewhat confused phase by the hosts, but Hartmut Mayerhoffer’s team couldn’t come closer than two points. The foxes extended their lead again. Jacob Holm scored via Kempa, Marsenic then sunk his seventh goal, before Lindberg increased the penalty to 33:28 in the 52nd minute and thus not only brought about the decision prematurely, but with his almost flawless performance almost incidentally again at the Catapulted to the top of the top scorers list.
“He’s a goal machine. You don’t have to say anything more than that. It’s impressive what he’s doing there,” said Sport Director Stefan Kretzschmar about the Dane. For him it was again the game he expected from his team and a performance that the foxes want to build on in the remaining four matches. Caroline Paul
