Hard against Fivers: traditional duel in the handball quarter-finals

Hard and the Ponds from Margareten will contest the most traditional duel of this quarter-final series from Friday (7 p.m.). Statistical treat: The two clubs have never met in the quarter-finals, but only in the later phases of the play-offs. There have already been four final duels since the 2013/14 season, and both teams faced each other in the semi-finals last year, which Hard won in a seven-meter thriller. The Fivers are also the only club to have consistently qualified for the semi-final format since it was introduced.

Hard-Trainer Hannes Jon Jonsson about the draw: “I don’t think it’s right that you have to choose. It can always come across as very provocative that you choose an opponent. But we’ll take what’s ours. If we’re allowed to choose at all, then we’ll choose according to our ranking – we’re second, so we’ll take seventh. The league is so balanced anyway that it doesn’t matter much who you play against.”

“An eternal rivalry”

In total, both teams have faced each other 110 times. In the last matches, the “Red Devils” were able to achieve two victories: a 38:29 home win and a hard-fought 28:26 away win. By the way, the Fivers’ last away win in Hard was on November 18, 2022. Fivers coach Peter Eckl knows what lies ahead for his young team: “It’s obviously an interesting duel. I think there’s been an eternal rivalry since the last decade, maybe even the last two decades. We’ll try to use our pace and our passion.”

Hard is prepared, we know each other all too well. Jónsson: “Against the Fivers we will be prepared for a lot of speed, a lot of running forwards and backwards.” The home advantage is relative. “If you look at the statistics, it’s about 50:50 between home and away games for us. Nevertheless, it’s something special to play in front of a full hall – and we’ll enjoy that too.”