Matchday 14: Dortmund take on Ochsenhausen
Matchday 14 in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) brings a familiar theme across many arenas: David vs Goliath, title contenders vs relegation fighters. The headline clash is in Dortmund, where BVB want to extend their surge and upset defending champions TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen. The matchday begins on Friday with a key duel between Muhlhausen and Fulda. All matches are streamed live on Dyn.
Post SV Muhlhausen – TTC RhonSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
The meeting of table neighbours to open Matchday 14 is also a clash between two struggling sides. Post SV Muhlhausen (8th) have managed only one win from their last five league matches, a run that also includes their defeat in Fulda on Matchday 9. That result remains the most recent victory for TTC RhonSprudel Fulda-Maberzell (9th), who have since gone four matches in a row without taking a point. One of those streaks must end on Friday at the LOTTO Thuringen Center Court, and for the loser the relegation battle will feel even more real.
1. FC Saarbrucken-TT – TSV Bad Konigshofen
The form team in the TTBL right now are TSV Bad Konigshofen. Long cut adrift at the bottom, the Bavarians have produced three sensational wins from their last four matches and, most recently, climbed off last place for the first time since Matchday 3 thanks to their 3:2 win over fellow strugglers TTC Zugbrucke Grenzau. Notably, new signing and hoped-for survival catalyst Xue Fei has not even made his debut yet. Saarbrucken, however, go into Friday’s match as favourites. On 18:8 points with an outstanding match record, the Saarlanders remain firmly on course for the play-offs. One question mark hangs over the line-up: Patrick Franziska and TTBL top player Darko Jorgic are in action at a WTT event in Oman.
Borussia Dortmund – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
Saturday’s top match takes place at the Brugmann Sporthalle and could prove pivotal for Borussia Dortmund’s play-off ambitions. With four straight wins, a club record, head coach Evgeny Fadeev’s side have put relegation worries behind them and closed the gap to the play-off places. Only two points separate BVB from fourth place, currently held by defending champions TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen. Head coach Bogdan Pugna’s newly structured team remain on target despite recent wobble in form, but will be keen to respond quickly after a bitter 1:3 defeat against a depleted Bergneustadt side. Once again, the TTF must do without their leading player Shunsuke Togami, who is competing at the Japanese national championships.
SV Werder Bremen – ASC Grunwettersbach
Despite their 3:2 win in Bad Homburg, SV Werder Bremen surrendered top spot to Borussia Dusseldorf on the previous matchday. Even so, the Hanseatic club are enjoying an excellent season and remain on course with a six-point cushion over the non-play-off places. The picture is very different for ASC Grunwettersbach: Karlsruhe have lost five in a row and are level on points with the relegation places. Reasons for hope include the first-leg meeting, a 3:0 home win that still stands as ASC’s most recent victory, and Tom Jarvis. The winter signing impressed with two points against Dortmund in only his second TTBL match. If the Englishman can repeat that level on Sunday, the chances of a first win since mid-November look far healthier.
Borussia Dusseldorf – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg
After their “home match away from home”, Borussia Dusseldorf return to the ARAG CenterCourt on Sunday for their first home match of the year as newly crowned league leaders. Danny Heister’s team have lost only one of their last nine matches, positioning themselves as title contenders after a mixed start to the season. Visitors TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg may be clear underdogs on paper, but they travel with positive memories of facing the record champions. Bad Homburg lost the league first leg, yet pulled off a major upset in the cup quarter-finals, beating Dusseldorf to book a place at the Liebherr Cup Final Four earlier this year. In the table, the club from Hesse sit seventh at first glance, but only two points separate the young side from the relegation places.
TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TTC Zugbrucke Grenzau
TTC Zugbrucke Grenzau arrive in Bergneustadt with unwanted baggage. After their 2:3 defeat against Bad Konigshofen, the TTBL ever-presents are back at the foot of the table. Now they travel to TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt. “Based on the recent results, we’re clear underdogs,” TTC manager Markus Stroher said ahead of the match. “But if we’re honest: we usually are. And still, we’ve surprised in games like these before.” Bergneustadt, led by top player Benedikt Duda, will be wary: the first-leg meeting earlier in the season went to the side from the Westerwald. Even so, for Schwalbe this is a must-win in the play-off race. A week ago, head coach Frederik Duda’s team took two huge points in the direct duel with defending champions TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen. With another win and an Ochsenhausen defeat in Dortmund, a move up to fourth place is even possible.
Matchday 14 fixtures
Friday, 23 January:
18:30: Post SV Muhlhausen – TTC RhonSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
19:00: 1. FC Saarbrucken-TT – TSV Bad Konigshofen
Saturday, 24 January:
15:00: Borussia Dortmund – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
Sunday, 25 January:
14:00: SV Werder Bremen – ASC Grunwettersbach
15:30: Borussia Dusseldorf – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg
17:00: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TTC Zugbrucke Grenzau
All matches are streamed live on Dyn.
Picture: Cedric Nuytinck of Borussia Dortmund (Photo: Ulrich Höfer)