Derby ends all square: Meuser equalises with final throw for 34:34

It was a match characterised by both efficiency and errors. TVE achieved a shooting percentage of 67 per cent, whilst Nordhorn-Lingen managed 65 per cent. However, both teams also committed a striking number of technical errors: Emsdetten 18, Nordhorn-Lingen 21. On top of that, the seven-metre throws were all successfully converted on both sides, with each team scoring three out of three. In the end, there was hardly any difference between the teams in almost all the statistics.

Paul Dreyer made 15 saves in the Emsdetten goal and kept his team in the game for long stretches, whilst Luca Tschentscher contributed eight saves for the visitors and made crucial saves, particularly in the closing stages. Up front, Yannick Terhaer was the hosts’ most reliable scorer with nine goals, including three from the seven-metre line, supported by Eric Damböck with eight goals. For the HSG, Elias Ruddat scored seven goals, whilst pivot Christian Wilhelm was one of the standout players with five goals and his presence in the central block.

For the hosts, this is their first draw of the season; for the HSG, it is already their second draw following the 31:31 result against HSC 2000 Coburg. Marius Kluwe was keen to view the result in a clearly positive light: “I think it’s a point gained. You can look at it either way. At times we were leading by five goals. Then, of course, it’s frustrating that in the second half we had a spell where we weren’t quite on our game, where we took rushed shots and made technical errors.”

The visitors got off to a flying start. Nordhorn-Lingen relied on quick finishes, capitalised on the hosts’ mistakes and pulled away from 7:10 to 9:12. Emsdetten initially struggled to find the net from set plays, but kept in the game thanks to Dreyer, who even got on the scoresheet himself with a shot into an empty net to make it 9:10.

The first turning point came, of all things, after a time-out called by the visitors. With the score at 14:14, Mark Bult called a time-out, but Emsdetten then took control: greater stability in the central defence, fewer errors in attack, and they went into the break with a three-goal lead at 18:15. Johannes Thiel identified the reasons within his own team: “We got off to a modest start and then had a bit of a burden to bear right from the outset. In the first half, we could have made things much easier for ourselves than we actually did.”

After the break, Emsdetten initially extended their lead to 23:18 and had the crowd firmly behind them. But then the match took a second turn. The visitors switched to a seven-against-six attack, executed their individual moves from the half-back positions more consistently and closed the gap goal by goal. At 24:24, the match was wide open again; shortly afterwards, the HSG took the lead for the first time since the break and extended their advantage to 25:27. “In the second half, we found our footing in the game again thanks to the seven-against-six and were able to capitalise on the situations well”, explained Thiel.

Emsdetten stayed in the game because Damböck scored to make it 30:30 after winning the ball in his own half, and Terhaer kept his cool from the seven-metre line. However, Elmar Erlingsson and Kyan van Berlo kept restoring the visitors’ lead; at 32:34, the match seemed to be decided. Marcel Timm pulled one back with 44 seconds remaining, then it came down to the final play: following a free-throw from just under eleven metres with two seconds left on the clock, Meuser scored to make it 34:34.

"I immediately thought of the promotion game against Gelnhausen – the situation was similar then. But I thought it was brilliant that the coach and the team had complete faith in me", said Meuser, who also admitted: "Of course, we could have won the match too, but we need to analyse that calmly." The closing stages were marred by Damböck sustaining a knee injury.

Both teams are back in action next weekend: HSG Nordhorn-Lingen host TuS Ferndorf on Sunday 18 October, whilst TV Emsdetten travel to face TuSEM Essen on Monday 19 October.

TV Emsdetten - HSG Nordhorn-Lingen 34:34 (18:15)

TV Emsdetten: Dreyer (15 saves), Krechel; Terhaer 9/3, Damböck 8, Heitkamp 4, Hasenkamp 3, Meuser 3, Timm 3, Budelmann 1, Tobeler 1, Kluwe 1, Träger, Jansen, Dörtelmann, Zintel, Beekmann

HSG Nordhorn-Lingen: Tschentscher (8 saves), Ligarzewski (4 saves); Ruddat 7, Marschall 5, Wilhelm 5, Lux 4/3, Erlingsson 3, Gentzel 3, Berlo 3, Thiel 2, Hüter 2, Duvancic, Lingers, Rajkovic, Hoogland

Top Player: Yannick Terhaer (HPI 91) / Christian Wilhelm (HPI 82)
Attendance: 2100 (Ems-Halle)
Suspensions: 3 / 4

All matches from the Opel HBL and 2. HBL are broadcast live by Dyn.

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