The Upper Austrians achieved the eighth coup in a highly dramatic final against HC Hardt.
On Tuesday, HC Linz won the title for the first time since 1996 in the third and decisive final of the Men’s Handball League Austria (HLA). In the most dramatic final, the Upper Austrians achieved their eighth coup from HC Hard – 31:30 (27:27, 16:13) after extra time in front of more than 2,000 fans. Linz was already in the final last year.
However, Vorarlberg’s “Red Devils” missed out on their first HLA title since 2021. “As expected, it was a pure fight, joy, passion on both sides and a worthy final,” said delighted Moritz Bachmann from Linz. ORF. “The club deserved to be champions,” he said, recalling last year’s final loss. “What’s happened to us in the last three or four years is very high.”
Florian Kuiper: “I’m Going to Lose My Nerve”
His team-mate Florian Kuyber was “speechless”. “That’s how we fought. It’s good to go to overtime. “I’m very happy we won,” said Kohli, who contributed to the victory with a couple of saves. “I was on the verge of losing my nerve,” he admitted.
Nico Schnabl spoke on behalf of Harder: “I’m empty. I don’t know what to say. It was clear from the start that it was going to be a fight. In the end we made one more mistake.
As the Vorarlbergers have never lost in front of their home crowd this season, base round winner Hart is the favorite. At the start, the home team took a 5:3 lead as planned. The score rose to 12:10 in the first half, before Lins took a three-goal lead into halftime with a strong finish.
After the break, the visitors went from being in control to leading by four goals. The Harders scored two goals in a row at 19:21 until the score was tied at 17:21, and hope returned. The Vorarlbergers actually managed to equalize with 90 seconds remaining at 26:26. In the most dramatic finish, the home team trailed 26:27, but they forced it into overtime 30 seconds before the final siren.
In it, Harder took the lead for the first time after 13:12 of the first half and Harder Dominique Schmidt, who ended his long career on Tuesday, led by two goals. But after the first five minutes of overtime, the score remained 29:29. The Linzers turned a 27:29 deficit into a decisive 31:29, so Vorarlberg’s last goal was useless. (APA)
