HC Erlangen defeats Wetzlar to capture its fourth straight win

HC Erlangen has stuck to its winning ways. The team of Head Coach Aðalsteinn Eyjólfsson turned in another impressive display to defeat HSG Wetzlar at home by 27:20 and capture its fourth victory in a row. The foundation for the clear win was laid by phenomenal defending and good switching from defense to attack and back. The victory in the “four-pointer” against the team that was just above it in the table means the first-division club from Franconia has moved up into tenth place in the DKB German Handball League.

HC Erlangen got off to a good start and went 1:0 ahead with a goal from Bissel. The home side was meticulous and compact in defense, but squandered a number of chances in attack, with the result that the encounter was tied at 3:3 after ten minutes. With his side short-handed, Christopher Bissel skilfully stole possession during a substitution and put the HC 5:4 in front. That not only came off on Erlangen’s left-hand side, but also on the right: Johannes Sellin captured possession and made it 7:4 on a fast break after 15 minutes. HC Erlangen’s players uncompromisingly sought one-on-one situations in attack and repeatedly managed to put their teammates through. However, Erlangen’s luck with its shots deserted it after 20 minutes, with the result that the HSG fought its way back to 9:8. With five minutes remaining in the first half, Erlangen stole the ball again and Bissel added his fourth goal (11:8). The HC did not relax its grip and went in at half-time with a 13:9 lead over the visitors from Central Hesse.

After the break, the HC picked up where it had left off: with uncompromising defense and lightning-fast goals on the counter. Sellin stretched the gap to 14:9 and Dominik Mappes made it 15:10 shortly afterwards. With his team short-handed, Nikolas Katsigiannis – who was once again a reliable mainstay for his team – saved the shot from Schefvert. Five minutes after the restart, the in-form Johannes Sellin scored from the backcourt (17:11) and Mappes added another one directly after that. With his team trailing by seven goals, the HSG’s Head Coach Kai Wandscheider was forced to call a timeout. However, Wetzlar only rarely found an antidote to Erlangen’s defense. And if it did find a way through to the goal, keeper Nikolas Katsigiannis was on hand. He made 16 saves, stopping 47% of all shots on his goal, enabling his team to maintain a good cushion. In addition, the HC hardly committed any mistakes up to crunch time. The sensational way Erlangen switched from defense to attack and back was again a key foundation for the victory. With 14 minutes remaining. none of the spectators was able to remain seated. Andreas Schröder made it 24:15 with a stout shot from the backcourt. Aðalsteinn Eyjólfsson then used the final ten minutes of the game to give many of his players time on court. Yet the rotation did not detract from HC Erlangen’s performance. The substitutes picked up seamlessly from the outstanding display of the teammates they replaced. In the end, HC Erlangen strolled to a 27:20 win against HSG Wetzlar.

“I really have to pay my team a huge compliment today. We played uncompromisingly from start to finish and, above all, never lost our discipline. The foundation for the win today was our outstanding defense, in which Petter Overby turned in an excellent game,” said a delighted Aðalsteinn Eyjólfsson afterwards.

Source: www.hc-erlangen.de