Aaaaaand we're off... | German Bundesliga

It feels only a couple of days ago when I wrote the first piece on the new 20-21 Season of the first German Bundesliga. Oh wait… it was. It is Monday and the first round is already behind us. Luckily all but one game actually got to go forward. Unfortunately, the match between VfL Red Hocks Kaufering and SC DHfK Leipzig had to be postponed due to Covid19-Limitations.

Round#1 Results

So let us take a look at if anything has changed in the last 8 months…well apart from the semi-annual migration of foreign players to the teams.

Red Devils Wernigerode – ETV Piranhhas Hamburg 3:4

At the end of the last season these two teams were battling it out for the play-off positions, so it was never going to be easy for either of them. Despite taking a two to nothing lead by end of first, Wernigerode was not able to hang on as the guests marched on with a four-pack in the next. With the score 2:4 in favour of the guests, it was Wernigerode that tried to stage a comeback. Unfortunately the goal scored by Jannes Zilling at 7.43 mark of the last period, that was the closest they were able to get. Thus the three points travelled with the Piranhhas back to Hamburg.

Berlin Rockets – UHC Sparkasse Weißenfels 3:10

Last season there was really noone that was able to put a stop to Weißenfels’ march towards the playoffs, it was much the same story for Berlin just in the other directions. Hoping to have their fortunes turned, Berlin’s hopes were soon to be crushed as barely 13 minutes had passes as the guests had already put up on an impressive 0:5 lead. This is something Berlin never really quite recovered from as after an rather uneventful second period (one goal each), Weißenfels turned up a notch again and scored additional 4 in quick succession. Not even two goals from the hosts were able to raise the spirits of the hometeam or their fans as Weißenfels marched on to a decisive 3:10 victory.

Blau-Weiß 96 Schenefeld – MFBC Leipzig 3:11

If Weißenfels was impressive last year, MFBC Leipzig was not far behind. Retaining their title from 2 years ago due to the Corona-Pandemic cancelling the rest of the season, Leipzig is certainyl determined to show they are not the champion for nothing. This time victim was to be Schenefeld. With a steady stream of goals, Leipzig cruised on to a comfortable victory as by end of second period it was already 2:9 in favor of the guests. A game Schenefeld is certainly interested in puttin behind them….WAAY behind them soon and concentrate on the next game.

DJK Holzbüttgen – Floor Fighters Chemnitz 6:5

From the onset, this match was perhaps the most interesting to see. Both holding places in the playoffs comfortably last year before the seasons got cut off, it was certainly not going to be boring. Chemnitz with their 4 newcomers from Finland having recently joined the team and Holzbüttgen relying on home-grown talent with no foreign help, it was going to be a question of whether the Chemnitz had managed to gel into a working unit against a team that had practised longer together (since the team is essentially the same as last year without foreign help) as a unit.
The game itself for the first two periods looked however more like a day at the races rather than a top-class floorball. Both teams showed surprising amount of nervousness and mistakes plenty from the hosts brought the 80 or so spectators a game that resembled more a tennismatch….left…right…left…right. To be totally honest, it was partially luck and partially great play by Jan Sauerbier in goal that kept the numbers down. For the hosts, it was Jannik Heinen that seemed to want it the most and kept the home-team in match with a pair of goals. Added to that, a goal from Janos Bröker towards the end of second period, it was only 3:5 in favor of Chemnitz.

Whatever was said in the locker-room between the second and third period seemed to have done it however. It was like a different team came out and the hometeam slowly started carving the lead out. When the period was nearly 7 minutes old, it was one of the seniors in the team, Mikko Koivisto that hit the ball between his legs in a goal-front melee and found the net and as Janos Bröker had found his second of the night, tied the game at 5. If it was the senior of the team that tied the game, it was fittingly one of the juniors that decided it. At 15.12 it was Niklas Stammen that found the next for the decider. Despite playing some 2 minutes without a goalie, Chemnitz was not able to match the new found vigor of the hosts. DJK outshot their opponents in the last period alone by a margin of 3:1…and it paid dividend.

Lack of commitment nearly cost us the game
Jesse Backman – Coach DJK Holzbüttgen

Having talked after the game with the DJK Coach, I asked what the problem in the first two periods was and what turned it around in the end. Backman basically referred to commitment issues at the beginning of the game as the team struggled to find players willing to take on responsibility and instead of making the game, witnessing it. This was then discussed in the second break in short but clear words. Even if the quality of the game did not improve drastically, we were able to use the chances this chaotic playingstyle brought us with good percentage. What certainly does not help is the currently narrow roster and we certainly still need to address.

SSF Dragons Bonn – TV Schriesheim 8:9

I must admit I am a little confused as before the season it was announced only 30 people were allowed in the hall in Bonn, yet they managed a 100-strong audience…hmmm. Need to look into that.
The game itself was a tightly contested event that Schriesheim almost ran away with. With 17 goals in total it was the guests that were leading the game by 4 goals with only 8 minutes to go. this is when Bonn still managed stage a comeback helped by a pair of 2min penalties for Schriesheim. Adrian Braune was still able add 2 goals only 20 seconds apart in the dying minutes of the period to bring his personal total to 5 for the evening. Yet it was not enough as Schriesheim stole the points in the end by hanging on to their suddenly narrow lead.

As already mentioned, the last game between Kaufering and the new-comers from Leipzig had to be postponed so more that when the time comes.

Table / Scorerlist

Calendar

Here is the schedule for the next games:

CUP

Before I sign off, there is still this small thing called Cup. With a little fanfare the first round was already played. Traditionally the first Bundesliga teams only join in the second round so forgive me for missing this one.
Here are the results of the first round