After a first-leg defeat in Germany, HB Ostrov z.s. delivered a strong home performance to overcome Postsportverein Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. and book their place in the Europe Cup final.
Vladislav URSU, Pavel SIRUCEK, and Andrej GACINA each claimed victories over Ovidiu IONESCU, Daniel HABESOHN, and Irvin BERTRAND, respectively — all in matches that went the full distance. The 3-0 team win leveled the overall score from the two legs, as the opening encounter had ended 3-1 in favor of Mühlhausen, thereby forcing a golden match.
In the decisive golden match, GACINA and URSU sealed the victory for HB Ostrov with a 2-0 result.
Head coach Tomáš DEMEK expressed his pride after the dramatic victory:
“We knew we had to fight and try to force a Golden Match. The players believed in each other and the home environment was probably the main thing. It was good that we played the rematch in front of our own fans. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such an adrenaline-filled match. Three singles ended 3:2, that’s incredible. I tried to be optimistic the whole time, the whole hall encouraged the players. I wanted a slightly different lineup for the Golden Match, but after consulting the whole team, we changed it. Advancing to the final is a huge success for our club.”
Photo by J. LOSKOT
Second leg
HB Ostrov z.s. -Postsportverein Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. 3-0
- Vladislav URSU – Ovidiu IONESCU 3-2 (14-12, 10-12, 11-3, 6-11, 6-3)
- Pavel SIRUCEK – Daniel HABESOHN 3-2 (7-11, 11-7, 12-10, 2-11, 6-2)
- Andrej GACINA – Irvin BERTRAND 3-2 (3-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-7, 6-3)
Golden match
HB Ostrov z.s. -Postsportverein Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. 2-0
- Andrej GACINA – Daniel HABESOHN 11-5
- Vladislav URSU – Ovidiu IONESCU 11-9
Postsportverein Mühlhausen 1951 e.V. – HB Ostrov z.s. 3-1
- Irvin BERTRAND – Andrej GACINA 3-2 (11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 11-13, 6-1)
- Ovidiu IONESCU – Vladislav URSU 1-3 (11-6, 9-11, 10-12, 9-11)
- Daniel HABESOHN – Pavel SIRUCEK 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-8)
- Irvin BERTRAND – Vladislav URSU 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-8)
