When Mihai Paduretu reminisced about the DVV cup sensation against Friedrichshafen in 2008, in which the Haching team surprisingly defeated the then industry leader in the semi-finals, he probably didn’t dare to seriously believe in a repeat of the coup. But shortly before 6 p.m. on Sunday the surprise was actually perfect: some of the players sank to their knees in disbelief before the team and coaching staff hugged each other. Many spectators rubbed their eyes in disbelief for a while at the 3:1 (25:22, 25:23, 15:25, 25:23) on the scoreboard, but the result stood – and the Hachingers were in the cup -Semifinals.
Before the game, managing director Paduretu tried to downplay expectations that were too high. “If there is a qualitative difference, then it will also be there in the cup,” he said, “but the favorites may always have a little more pressure because they know that a slip-up in this competition cannot be corrected.” Against The highly favored guests from Lake Constance, Mircea Dudas’ team, entered the stage as clear outsiders – and caught them cold.
In the first round, Haching took a comfortable lead (13:6) against unfocused and strangely inhibited Häfler, which they saved until crunch time, where Matthew Passalent converted the first set point with a powerful attack from the outside position.
VfB coach Adam Swaczyna asks his players to finally do “something”.
Anyone who expected Friedrichshafen to transform in the second half was disappointed: VfB coach Adam Swaczyna’s speeches during the time-outs became increasingly desperate; it was no longer about tactical finesse, but about slogans of perseverance and the angry admonition that his players should please finally do “something”. Alone: The game remained firmly in Hachinger’s hands.
With great commitment in defense and patience in attack, the hosts gained a lead of 13:9. Although the guests equalized again shortly before the end of the set, Haching also brought this round over the finish line. In the third set, Friedrichshafen’s performance was more reminiscent of the level expected in advance, but in the fourth set the situation changed again: VfB was unable to play to its strengths and allowed Haching to pull away to 14:11 and 18:14. In the end, Haching’s strongest attacker Alginon Maurice Lewis-Fregeau converted the first match point into the last of his 18 points that evening.
Unterhaching had already performed significantly better in the Bundesliga than in his first four seasons since promotion, but recently unexpectedly dropped three points in Königs Wusterhausen. “We would like to have two more points overall, but we are definitely much closer than in previous years,” said Paduretu.
Given the fact that the Hachingers had saved by far their strongest performance of the season so far for the cup quarter-finals, he was probably more than able to cope with the missing league points.
