WE136I: A thrilling draw in Großkorbetha

Originally we planned to watch two football matches in Burgwerben and Reichardtswerben, respectively, but - although the pitches were proper playable - the matches were called-off. A bit of mud and slight rain is enough for those German sissies to postpone a match. TSV Großkorbetha II 19:25 Friesen Frankleben III Saturday, 7th March 2009 - kick-off time 15.00 1. Kreisklasse (8th level, lowest amateur level) Result: 19:25 after 60 min. - Halftime 9:14 Goals: no idea Time penalties: 4-6 minutes Sent-offs: none Sports hall: Werner-Giersch-Halle (cap. 250; 220 seated) Attendance: 25 (no away fans) Match quality: 3.0/10 (lame) TSV Großkorbetha I 20:20 MSV Buna Schkopau II Saturday, 7th March 2009 - kick-off time 17.00 Kreisliga (7th level, 2nd lowest amateur level) Result: 20:20 after 60 min. - Halftime 10:10 Goals: no idea Bookings: 6-8 minutes Sent-offs: Block (Buna Schkopau, 44:57 min.) due to harsh foul play Sports hall: Werner-Giersch-Halle (cap. 250; 220 seated) Attendance: 85 (no away fans) Match quality: 7.0/10 (very entertaining)

We had so much time due to those unjustifiable match postponements that we could stop for a bite to eat in a quite good Chinese restaurant that offers nice dishes to reasonable prices, in Weißenfels. It was one of the very few facilities in Weißenfels which had open doors on 1 p.m. on that Saturday. That dirty town really is a village! Then we went to the sports hall in Großkorbetha, a small village between Weißenfels and Leuna, for watching handball. The first one of the two handball matches - TSV Großkorbetha II vs Friesen Frankleben III - was a match of the lowest division. But even compared to other matches of the Kreisklasse, it was really weak. So many mistakes and so lame, that even the referee had no problems in following the match. Luckily, the players threw some nice goals from time to time. Further description is not needed here. That team at the bottom of the table that lost 13 matches in a row, lost a 14th match and that team ranked 3rd asserted its rank. Frankleben won 25:19. The second match - TSV Großkorbetha vs Merseburger SV Buna Schkopau II - was just one level higher on paper, but three or four levels higher in view. It was fast paced and hard played right from the beginning, and although the players did not score so often, it was a great match. After 18 minutes, the result was just 4:3. But after Großkorbetha scored two more goals until minute 20, there were far more goals per minute scored, than before. 10:10 at half-time. In the second half, the match was even better. Really, it was a thrilling match and of good quality. Großkorbetha used some shortcomings of Schkopau for scoring three goals. 15:12. After Schkopau almost equalised (15:14), the only player familiar to me - Ronny Block, an old school mate of mine, playing for Schkopau - was sent off due to harsh foul play. He was almost every minute in the match and did good work at the throwing circle, but one mistake - pulling an opponent down who was broken through the circle, directly in front of the goalkeeper - and he had the red card in front of his face. The only ridiculous decision made by the referees: the first referee, that one who had been quite close to the scene, sent Ronny off with a two-minute time penalty (that was absolutely justified!) but the second one ran to the scene from 25m behind and showed him the red card just after several fans of the hosting team shouted: “Sent him off! Show him the red card!” A handball-typical arbitrary decision. But even the next lead of three goals was not enough for Großkorbetha. Schkopau equalised after they caught three goals in a row that led to a 20:17 lead for TSV 1893. The 20:20 equaliser was scored about 30 seconds before the end, and in a heated final phase, Schkopau maintained the draw. Nonetheless, by the way, respect to the referees, that did not make more than one dubious decision. Especially the last minutes were difficult to manage. I just had liked if they had sent-off that provocateur from Großkorbetha with the number 6. If they show Ronny the red card for the shit he did, that guy had deserved his third two-minute time-penalty (that is also a sent-off for the rest of the match) after 48 minutes. All in all, he even deserved five time-penalties due to playing foul, bitching and provoking other players. Other people who should be mentioned, are the fans. Well, two of them: the guy with the drum and that one with the horn. They were always supporting. It has been another nice handball match and a deserved draw. Statistics Ground No. 283 (new ground; this season: 53) Sporting event No. 762/ 763 (this season: 130) Kilometres that day: 50 (bike) Km this season: 18,120; i.e. 9,270 car/ 3,030 bike/ 2,960 plane/ 2,860 train Number of weeks since the last week without any sporting event (Aug 1st-6th 2006): 136 For more photos see: http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x68/fchmksfkcb/090307%20Handball%20Grosskorbetha%20-%20Friesen3%20und%20MSV2/