Eintracht Hildesheim wins, but promotion remains out of reach!

Eintracht Hildesheim wins, but promotion remains out of reach!

In an exciting game on June 8, 2025, Eintracht Hildesheim was able to record a win in the second leg against HC Oppenweiler/Backnang, but they were denied promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga. Despite the final score of 31:27 for Hildesheim after a half of 17:12, the nine-goal deficit from the first leg weighed too heavily. Eintracht lost overall with 57:62 after Oppenweiler/Backnang clearly won the first leg with 35:26, as Handball World reports.

The second leg started promisingly for Hildesheim. The team was already leading 9:5 in the 15th minute. A crucial point was the early seven-meter penalty, which Leon Krka successfully fended off. Unfortunately, Luca Hopfmann was injured in the early stages and had to be substituted, which affected Hildesheim's efforts. Even though there were repeated discrepancies in the referee's decisions, the flow of the game remained largely undisturbed. One happening of the game was the red card for Mota de Sousa from HCOB in the 25th minute after a serious foul.

Appearances and farewells

With a 17:12 lead at halftime, the Hildesheim fan base was optimistic, but the guests from Oppenweiler/Backnang showed their resilience and ensured that the gap never grew greater than six goals. In the second half, the Hildesheimers were able to extend their lead to 18:12 and 20:14, but Oppenweiler still managed to reduce the deficit several times. Lothar von Hermanni, who was his team's top scorer with a total of 11 goals, converted his fifth penalty throw to make it 25:19 in the 52nd minute. The final point of the game came when HCOB took a timeout in the final minute and Hildesheim's hope of a comeback was dashed.

The match was watched by 2,383 spectators who saw the fate of the two teams take a decisive turn. Finally, players like Moritz Schade, René Gruszka and Lothar von Hermanni were bid farewell after the game. Von Hermanni will celebrate his farewell game on August 9th, an event that is awaited with great anticipation. Defense chief Petar Juric was unable to play due to a double torn ligament, which severely affected Hildesheim's defense, as the official Eintracht Hildesheim website mentioned.

When analyzing the game, the Hildesheim coaching team will have to work with the players on their psychology and a new defensive form over the next few weeks in order to be prepared for the coming season. For Eintracht, the course of the game was a mixed feeling of pride in their own performance, but also frustration over missing the goal of promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga.