HC Erlangen advances to the last sixteen of the DHB Cup

HC Erlangen won its cup game against SG BBM Bietigheim by the clear margin of 34:20 (22:11). Thanks to a focused performance in switching from defense to attack and back, coupled with strong defending, the club has thus advanced to the last sixteen of the DHB Cup.

As in the encounter against Groß Bieberau/Modau, HC Erlangen was again fully alert from the throw-off. Building on a compact 6:0 defensive formation, the club from Franconia again unfurled its high-paced play and led by 9:4 after 12 minutes. The team led by captain Michael Haaß allowed hardly any passes to reach their target at the crease, and Bissel finished a counter-attack to make it 12:4 in the 15th minute. When a Bietigheim player did manage to find a gap, the HC’s keeper Katsigiannis was often able to prevent the newly promoted opponents from scoring. Nikolai Link rewarded his team for its concentrated play by extending the lead to ten goals in the 25th minute.

After the break, Erlangen picked up where it had left off in the first half. Impressive goals from the backcourt, coupled with finely carved-out ones from the wings, meant the HC led by 26:12 in the 40th minute. The HC continued to put up stiff resistance in defense and at times caused the opposing side to become frustrated. Bietigheim’s new signing Patrick Weber still attempted to score from the backcourt, but goalkeeper Gorazd Skof repeatedly thwarted him. Erlangen’s Head Coach Aðalsteinn Eyjólfsson exploited the large lead to try out various formations in attack. Yet the change in block did not diminish his team’s zest – on the contrary. With ten minutes remaining, Nico Büdel made it 30:16 from the backcourt. By then at the latest, none of the HC fans who had made the journey doubted that their team would run out winners. The finest goal of the encounter was scored by Christopher Bissel after a Kempa trick by Johannes Sellin. HC Erlangen ultimately reaped the rewards for its focused play to win by the clear margin of 34:20. The top scorer for Erlangen was new signing Petter Overby with six goals. Patrick Weber scored a total of four times for Bietigheim.

“We stuck rigorously to our high-paced play and were very often successful on our fast breaks. We’re naturally delighted to advance to the next round of the cup in such commanding fashion,” said Aðalsteinn Eyjólfsson after the game.