It’s forbidden to lose, that’s the motto for the handball players of HC Linz AG in tomorrow’s second game of the “Best of three” league semi-final series at home against Hard (6 p.m. live on ORF Sport Plus and laola1.tv). After the 20:28 last Saturday in Vorarlberg, coach Milan Vunjak’s squad needs a win to force a decider. The coach can again fully count on his captain Max Hermann. This is anything but a matter of course after this season. Flashback: After he had a ganglion on his Achilles heel surgically removed in September, he actually wanted to return after eight weeks. However, eight weeks turned into half a year. The left-hander reported back in good time before the league play-offs. “I feel good again,” he says, relieved after the long wait.
In the first encounter with Hard, Hermann was even one of Linz’s top scorers with four goals. After six shoulder operations, he had actually shelved his offensive ambitions and positioned himself as a defense specialist. “I just had to take on more responsibility against Hard,” Hermann alluded to Tobias Cvetko’s knee problems. Along with Lucijan Fizuleto and Dejan Babic, the Slovenian is one of the pillars of the Linz game this season, but it was in Hard of all places that this engine faltered. “Other people have to step in then – and I’m one of them,” says Hermann.
Too many missed free throws and ball losses had prevented a surprise in Hard. Tomorrow it should work better with the help of the home fans. For the first time since the reopening, the hall could be sold out.
Source: Nachrichten
