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ASV Cologne – Floor Fighters Chemnitz 3-13 (0-3, 1-5. 2-5)

Florian Buechting Sports Reports No Comments

Getting into the FInal4, the semifinal and final event of the German Floorball Cup, is likely one of the most prestigious events you can achieve in the sports in Germany. My former team ASV Cologne, who are “just” playing in the regional division Regionalliga West, kept the dream alive until the fourth round of the 2023/24 competition, which is also the Round of 16. However, with the Floor Fighter Chemnitz, they now had to face an opponent from the German Bundesliga. The match was set up to be played on 21st January 2024 at the ASV Cologne’s very own sports hall, ASV-Halle.

This posting comes with a section of 377 major size pictures in the sports galleries. 

 

Cologne – Floor Fighters – Match Report

ASV Köln / Cologne had really prepared well for the match. There was no speaker, but music, cake – and almost 200 spectators for the cup battle, who supported the local team quite enthusiastically. A special guest who followed the request to wear red clothes (in contrast to many fans) was a robin, which somehow felt comfortable in the ASV-Halle. Chemnitz tried to control the match from the very beginning. The held the ball and looked for the weak spots in Cologne’s defense. After 3:30 minutes, Väinö-Oskari Paavilainen initially surived in that and scored the lead for the guests. Cologne did give a great fight and here and there had some decent opportunities. However, they once they lost a little bit of concentration (or faith) throughout the match, Chemnitz typically used that for a good scoring opportunity.

The longer the first period took, the more self-confident the game of the hosts felt to be. This does not mean that Cologne could keep up, but they blocked a lot of attacks, had some nice steals and could also rely on their goalkeeper Alexander Matschy, who played a good match. Their key problem: the gap between the two divisions is just too big – and some of the big Floor Fighters’ players stepped in when necessary. One was Tomas Novotny, who scored the second goal in the 15th minute. Two minutes later, Paavilainen sniped a shot almost from the center line and scored the third goal overall for his team. Remarkably, the Cologne crowd knew beforehand that an upset was very unlikely. In line with the team, they cheered on every good turnover, on fast-breaks or saves. This lead to a great atmosphere throughout the game.

 

Kai Alexander Sicora Scored in the Second Period

The 0-3 score after the first period was overall fine. One thing you just did not want to happen as a local was an early fourth goal by the Floor Fighters. However, Niki Lemberg was not that much in line with that attitude and raised bar by another goal just after 31 seconds in the second period. However, Cologne showed a lot of faith – and they got the deserved goal just seconds thereafter. Kai Alexander Sicora completed a left wing attack and made the ASV fans proud – and some people watch the game from the gym window right underneath the ceiling of ASV Halle.

Even though this goal was definitely deserved due to all the heart and spirit Cologne invested into the match (in the rink and on the organization), this did not change the general situation. Even though the game got more attractive and also a quicker, there was never a doubt that Chemnitz could struggle. Paavilainen went for his third one in the 23rd minute and Paul Wurlitzer converted a penalty shot in the 30th minute, leading to an intermediate score of 1-6. In the second last minute of the period, Hannes Langenstraß and Nils Brünnel put their jersey number right into the goal column of the match report. 1-8 might read like a tough score, but finally it was just realistic, and the Cologne people appreciated the performance of both teams.

 

A Lovely Match Saw Two More Cologne Goals

The first minutes of the third period gave a bit of a Cologne floorball dream on this early Sunday afternoon. Henry Schäfer scored the second Cologne goal in the 43rd minute, completing a left wing attack. Even though Maximilian Schröder gave back Chemnitz back a seven goal lead shortly thereafter, Sicora made his team party again in the 44th minute. Three goals against a Bundesliga team did feel very good. By the way, a young girl managed to that the birdie could escape from the arena. Not sure how that was reflected in the spectators count.

You have to say that even though Cologne did give a great fight and a very concentrated defense, you felt all the factors which you had expected to decide the cup match. Chemnitz was more experienced, skilled and also had some great individual players. The final score was 3-13. The four additional goals were scored by Wurlitzer (48th), Paavilainen (52nd), Camill Wagner (58th) and Maximilian Schröder (60th minute). Their Floor Flighters Chemnitz now need just one additional victory in the cup competition to qualify for the Berlin Final 4 in May 2024.

 

Cologne – Floor Fighters – My View of the Match

I really loved the match. The Cologne David faced Chemnitz’s Goliath. They won something which might be even more valuable for them than advancing another round. In front of almost 200 people, both teams showed a great floorball demonstrations. Kids, families and friends loved it and will keep this match in their mind. Some might even come back and join the squad one day, who knows?

The match was absolutely fair without any major hassles. The crowd accepting from the beginning that the Floor Fighters are very likely an unbeatable Goliath turned the match into a great atmosphere. Despite a difference of ten goals, Cologne somehow felt a bit like a winner as well. It feels almost needless to say that Chemnitz, whose sportsmanship was a big factor to a great floorball afternoon, absolutely deserved to cruise into the quarterfinals of Floorball Deutschland Cup.

 

Cologne – Floor Fighters – Lineups

ASV Cologne: 45 Alexander Matschy – 2 Lias Büll, 6 Luca Cavucci, 11 Philip Helsig, 12 Patrick Franke, 16 Marius Lüdemann, 17 Manuel Schächinger, 20 Henry Schäfer, 21 Bjarne von Alemann, 23 Moritz Heisig, 24 Simon Magnus, 27 Hendrik Stepkes, 33  Manuel Bitschnau, 52 Marius Böcking, 57 Kai Alexander Sicora, 71 Louis-Serge Mosscherin, 74 Christer Ajaxson, 91 Pawel Alexiadis, 98 Philipp Bürger

Floor Fighters Chemnitz: 17 Leon Lormis, 5 Daid Millard – 2 Camill Wagner, 3 Tomas Novotny, 4 Nils Brünnel, 5 David Millard, 9 Paul Wurlitzer, 14 Niklas Fechtig, 17 Leon Lormis, 21 Hannes Langenstraß, 22 Paul Millard, 30 Väinö-Oskari Paavilainen, 31 Maximilian Schröder, 38 Noah Zielke, 44 Laurin Busse, 55 Valentin Müller, 90 Niki Lemberg, 91 Olli Vikman, 92 Pepe Wurlitzer,

 

Cologne – Floor Fighters  – Gallery

In the sports gallery, there is a designated major size picture gallery with 377 pictures of this match at

 

 

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Here is all my sports coverage tagged as All around Cologne, i.e. the Rhineland in Germany:

 

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