Lübbecke (dpa / lnw) – The spectators cheered, the players jumped in circles and the officials were very proud: After the fall into the 2nd handball Bundesliga was sealed, TuS N-Lübbecke looked like relegation. For the local “Mindener Tageblatt” the East Westphalians were “perhaps the most celebrated relegation of all time”.
After all, the direct relegation after the seventh Bundesliga promotion last summer had long been apparent. But Lübbecke won the last two games, on Thursday evening the 21:20 win against TSV Hannover-Burgdorf was secured by a double kempa trick by Florian Baumgärtner a few seconds before the end.
“This victory feels really good and is absolutely amazing,” said Baumgärtner, adding in retrospect: “What a second half of the season we played – with so many injuries,” said the winning goalscorer: “It’s a nice feeling to be with saying goodbye to their own fans after a win.”
However, the seventh relegation is now certain due to the simultaneous victory of the now almost saved local rivals GWD Minden against HC Erlangen. Nevertheless, the club wrote on its website that the joy was “rightly so” after the win, that they had “already gained confidence for the 2nd Bundesliga” and proved to be a “real and honest brand with the best reputation in handball Germany”. .
“I’m proud of this team,” said sponsor Armin Gauselmann. The team had “shown to be extremely strong in character”. That’s how coach Emir Kurtagic saw it: “The boys can be really proud of themselves.”
