Martin Schwalb’s return as coach for the HC Erlangen ended on a sour note as his team lost 27-28 to VfL Gummersbach in the second round of the DHB-Pokal. Schwalb, who took over the reins just a week ago, expressed disappointment after Tim Gömmel missed a critical penalty in the dying seconds, which would have sent the game into extra time. „The boys played great, but the ending is incredibly disappointing for us. We didn’t deserve this,” he commented during a streaming session.
Meanwhile, other Bundesliga favorites faced tough matches, with TSV Hannover-Burgdorf narrowly defeating VfL Lübeck-Schwartau 36-33 after overtime. The Füchse Berlin squeezed past Frisch Auf Göppingen 37-36 despite a significant lead evaporating late in the game. In contrast, Rhein-Neckar Löwen managed to secure a 29-26 victory against Eintracht Hagen, thanks to goalkeeper Mikael Appelgren’s impressive 15 saves. Notably, four Bundesliga teams, including Erlangen and Göppingen, found themselves out of the competition, marking a surprising turn of events in this year’s tournament laut Informationen von www.noz.de. The second round continues with more matches, including a clash between HSV Hamburg and THW Kiel.
