Match day #19: Bergneustadt has its sights set on the goal; Grünwettersbach needs a derby win

Will match day #19 also decide who claims the fourth spot in the Liebherr TTBL Final4? TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt currently holds the pole position for a semifinal berth and would seal the deal with a win on Tuesday at Post SV Mühlhausen. At the bottom of the table, ASC Grünwettersbach is hoping for its first points of the second half of the season to secure its place in the Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL). All matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

ASC Grünwettersbach – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen

The Baden-Württemberg derby between ASC Grünwettersbach and TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen enters its 22nd edition tomorrow, Monday—and rarely has the situation been so tense. For ASC Grünwettersbach, the stakes are almost everything: The Baden-based team has been waiting for a win since November 16 and is consequently stuck at the bottom of the table. With 8:28 points, Grünwettersbach is in last place in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) and is fighting to avoid relegation. They trail eleventh-place Bad Königshofen (10:26) by two points. But Ochsenhausen also needs the points on Monday to perhaps still achieve its season goal. Currently, the reigning champion sits in fifth place (18:18) and, trailing Bergneustadt (24:12) by six points, is in danger of missing out on the Liebherr TTBL Final4. Ochsenhausen must cope with a thin roster: In Grünwettersbach, only three players—Iulian Chirita, Leonardo Iizuka, and Andreas Levenko—will be available once again. Shunsuke Togami is out due to a knee injury, and Tiago Abiodun is sidelined following hip surgery.

TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau

Fans of TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell are going through a rough patch: The East Hessian team last secured a home victory in mid-November, a 3-2 win against Mühlhausen—since then, they’ve suffered three painful losses at their home venue, the Hubtex Arena. In the final matches of the season, the Fulda team has set its sights on balancing its point tally; the team currently stands at 16:20 points. Their recent form justifies this goal: After suffering six losses in seven matches at one point, the team has recently celebrated two consecutive victories, namely in Grünwettersbach (3:2) and Ochsenhausen (3:1). However, TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau—a team Fulda has historically struggled against—is now coming to East Hesse: In recent years, Fulda has often looked out of its depth against Grenzau, losing the first leg (2-3) as well as both matches last season (both 1-3). The team from the Westerwald has recently put itself in a strong position in the fight to avoid relegation: With three consecutive wins, including a recent 3-1 victory over Bad Homburg, Grenzau sits in ninth place and is already six points ahead of bottom-placed Grünwettersbach.

Post SV Mühlhausen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt

TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt is just one win away from pulling off a major upset: Before the season began, Benedikt Duda’s team wasn’t exactly among the favorites to qualify for the Liebherr TTBL Final 4. However, thanks to strong performances, Bergneustadt established itself at the top early on, never finishing lower than 5th place on any match day, and now has an excellent chance of making it to the semifinals for the first time since 2019. With 24:12 points, Bergneustadt is well ahead of Ochsenhausen and Dortmund (both 18:18), also has the better goal difference, and would consequently be out of reach with just one more win. And the team’s form speaks for itself: In seven second-half matches, the Schwalben have left the court as losers only once, against Düsseldorf (2:3). Post SV Mühlhausen’s season, on the other hand, has been mixed: With 14:22 points, the Thuringians find themselves in eighth place, but have not yet fully secured their place in the league, given their six-point lead over Grünwettersbach. Most recently, Mühlhausen lost in Bremen (1:3) and against Grenzau (2:3).

Borussia Dortmund – SV Werder Bremen

The SV Werder Bremen management is itself somewhat surprised by the team’s success this season: “We entered what is arguably the strongest league in the world with the goal of establishing ourselves in the middle of the table and avoiding the relegation zone,” says coach Cristian Tamas. “That’s why it came as quite a surprise to us that we’ve reached the final round.” Since the last matchday, Bremen’s qualification for the Liebherr TTBL Final 4 has been confirmed, and they even still have a chance to win the main round. Currently, Werder (28-8) is just two points behind league leader Düsseldorf (30-6). Borussia Dortmund’s chance of reaching the semifinals is likely only a mathematical possibility at this point. After two recent losses, in Grenzau and against Düsseldorf (both 1-3), BVB currently sits at 18-20 points, six points behind fourth-place Bergneustadt.

Borussia Düsseldorf – TSV Bad Königshofen

Borussia Düsseldorf secured its spot in the Liebherr TTBL Final4 last week. However, it remains unclear who the record champions will face in the semifinals—in any case, Borussia will likely want to avoid Saarbrücken at all costs. Given the current standings, Düsseldorf will likely throw everything they have into defending their top spot. They currently sit in first place with 30:6 points, just ahead of Bremen (28:8), and remain undefeated in the second half of the season. Given this record, TSV Bad Königshofen enters the match as the underdog—though the Lower Franconians could certainly use the points. While Bad Königshofen has shown an improvement in performance in the second half of the season so far, their relegation worries are by no means over. With 10:26 points, TSV sits in 11th place, just two points ahead of Grünwettersbach (8:28). Most recently, Bastian Steger and his teammates lost first to Ochsenhausen (1:3) and then to Bergneustadt (0:3).

TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT

TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg is likely to go into the match against 1. FC Saarbrücken TT with very fond memories of the first leg. Last November, Benno Oehme, Csaba Andras, and the doubles team of Jo Yokotani and Ivor Ban came back from a 0-2 deficit to secure a 3-2 victory, delivering a major upset. Should the Hessians manage to repeat this success on Wednesday, it would be another major step toward securing their place in the league: With 12:24 points, Bad Homburg currently sits four points ahead of bottom-placed Grünwettersbach (8:28). But there is still a lot at stake for Saarbrücken in the four remaining regular-season matches as well. Although the FCS has already secured its ticket to the Liebherr TTBL Final4, a semifinal matchup with Düsseldorf still looms. To definitively avoid this, the FCS needs to jump to second place—currently, the Saarland team (26:10) trails second-place Bremen (28:8) by two points.

Match day #19 at a glance

Monday, March 23
6:30 p.m.: ASC Grünwettersbach – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
7:00 p.m.: TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau

Tuesday, March 24
6:30 p.m.: Post SV Mühlhausen – TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
7:00 p.m.: Borussia Dortmund – SV Werder Bremen

Wednesday, March 25
6:30 p.m.: Borussia Düsseldorf – TSV Bad Königshofen
7:00 p.m.: TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg – 1. FC Saarbrücken TT

All matches will be broadcast live on Dyn.

Header photo: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt's Romain Ruiz (by Ulrich Höfer)