Tired and with hanging heads, the HC Linz AG handball players climbed out of the bus yesterday after the eleven-hour return journey. The narrow 35:38 after a seven-meter throw at RK Izvidac (Bih) on Saturday, which meant the end of the first round of the European Cup, weighed heavily. After the 34:32 home win, coach Milan Vunjak’s team was two goals down in Ljubuski until the end, before Alex Hermann, Linz’s fifth penalty thrower, failed. “It hurts to miss the most important throw,” said the 30-year-old, who was comforted by his team. Hermann: “I’m sorry for the team, they deserved promotion.”
“You don’t need to worry about Alex, he’s at an age when he’s already put up with enough setbacks,” said manager Uwe Schneider. Especially since Hermann had been voted the best Linzer of the evening with nine goals. Despite the defeat, Schneider and Vunjak praised the commitment and character of the team. In front of the unusually large crowd of around 2,000 spectators, the people of Linz had not shown any nervousness and had taken a 4-0 lead. The game turned around as Izvidac took a lead of up to five goals after the break. “Despite all the adversities, the team fought back,” Schneider alluded to the controversial decisions of the Montenegrin referees and the Croatian official.
Around 10,000 euros
“You could see we’re ready for Europe,” said club president Bernhard Ditachmair after HC Linz returned to the European Cup after twelve years. Away from football, European appearances usually mean more expenses than income. In an initial estimate, Ditachmair put this at a manageable 10,000 euros – thanks to not taking a flight. “These expenses are absolutely worth it to me because the experiences of such games shape the team, the coach and also us officials,” said Ditachmair of talks with the Izvidac management about their infrastructure and club model. (pue)
Source: Nachrichten
