Fivers in the play-offs

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Fivers team wing Eric Damböck.

(Bild: Nigg)

The Fivers handball team start the HLA quarter-final series in Bruck on Sunday. For almost 20 years, the Margaretner have always made it into the top four. Team wing Eric Damböck relies on the power of the dog, so to speak, before his move to Switzerland.

"Hee, stay there! Sit now." A little later: "Good boy, Baloo!" Eric Damböck had to laugh himself in the "Krone" phone call, he was just out and about with his girlfriend Vicky's little Yorkshire terrier in Purkersdorf. "My usual walk. It's really good, you can think a lot." For example, how the team wing could successfully start the best-of-3 quarter-final series of the Handball League with the Fivers at Bruck/Trofaiach on Sunday (17:15, live on krone.tv). "An evenly-matched duel in which a lot will depend on how the day goes," says Damböck, whose scoring instincts will once again be in demand against the "Foxes".

Eric Damböck with girlfriend Vicky and Baloo.

(Bild: Privat)

And this on his farewell tour - the 24-year-old crowd favorite is moving to Switzerland in the summer to join Kreuzlingen, which has just managed to stay in the league against Geneva. "The feeling that it could soon be over at the Fivers is pretty tough. I still want to have great success and be able to celebrate with our great fans." There will also be strong support on Sunday, with a fan bus even making the trip to Styria.

If history is anything to go by, then Vienna's chances of promotion are really good. For almost 20 years (2004/'05), they have always reached the semi-finals - the only club in Austria to do so. "It's best if it continues like this," winks boss Tom Menzl, who, together with coach Peter Eckl, is not thinking about the last three defeats against the "Foxes" led by former team winger Santos. After the Cup semi-final in 2023, they also lost the two basic round duels this season. That hurt.

How does Menzl see the starting position between third and sixth in the league? "Starting as favorites at home - that can be a bit paralyzing. The first game is often the most difficult." For Damböck, the 39:31 home win against top team Schwaz was important. "We gained a lot of confidence there and saw that we're not lacking in terms of handball." The Tyroleans lost 30:34 (12:15) at home to Linz in their quarter-final opener on Saturday.