- Keine Einträge vorhanden
Austria make it to the semi-finals!
A packed venue (2,500 fans) and perfect fistball weather once again ensured an awesome atmosphere for the 2011 Fistball WCH quarter-finals.
Argentina - Switzerland
The Swiss struggled to keep their nerve in the first set, which they then narrowly lost 10:12.
The Swiss surrendered a five-point lead in the middle of the second set but still went on to win it clearly 11:7 thanks to precise attacks by Ueli Rebsamen and Cyrill Schreiber.
The third set could easily have gone either way. The Swiss lost it 8:11 mainly due to the outstanding form shown by Argentina's top attacker Martin Vazquez.
The Swiss won a highly dramatic fourth set with their third set point and were thus able to prevent an Argentinian victory for the time being.
Following set points for the Swiss, the incredibly cool Argentinians went on to take the fourth set which earned them a place in the semi-finals while the Swiss and their tragic hero Cyrill Schreiber will face the Italians who were beaten by Austria.
Result: Argentina vs. Switzerland 3:2 (12:10, 7:11, 11:8, 11:13, 12:10)
Germany win after a brief scare
The Chileans surprisingly held their own against Germany in the first set, winning it by the clear margin of 11:8 largely thanks to Álvaro Mödinger. The Germans then brought on Patrick Thomas and it was not long before the score stood at 10:0. Germany had woken up, went on to take this set and also the following two clearly 11:2 and 11:6. All in all the record World Champion made it to the semi-finals in impressive style.
Result: Germany vs. Chile 3:1 (8:11, 11:2, 11:2, 11:6)
Brazil cruise to victory
Namibia also stood their ground well at the beginning of this uneven pairing. But Brazil kept their cool and turned a 4:4 into an 11:4 at the end.
The Seleção clearly had the upper hand in the second set as well, with top spiker Patrick dominating the game. The outcome of the third set was likewise inevitable. Brazil secured their place in the semi-finals with a victory in straight sets.
Result: Brazil vs. Namibia: 3:0 (11:4, 11:4, 11:5)
Austria win in straight sets but are made to fight
The Austrian team appeared to have recovered well from the previous day's defeat against Germany. The hosts found their rhythm with Jean Andrioli and Dietmar Weiss in attack and Siegfried Simon, Christian Leitner and Karl Rick behind them. The Italians put up a courageous fight, however, losing the first set 11:9.
The Azzurri defended doggedly in the second set as well, but struggled to find a recipe against the newly brought on Michael Feichtenschlager despite holding the lead for a long time.
The tide suddenly turned in the third set and before the Austrians knew it they were trailing 5:10 to the Italians. Reluctant to sacrifice even one set to the South Tyroleans, Winfried Kronsteiner's men fought their way back into the match, defended set point after set point and won it 14:12 in front of an ecstatic crowd.
What they said:
Siegfried Simon: "It was a very difficult match, especially because of the light. But the atmosphere was awesome and making it to the WCH semi-finals in front of a home crowd here in Linz was the best thing that could have happened to me. I'm absolutely delighted," says the local hero.
News on the ticket front
The huge demand for seat tickets in Pasching has prompted the organisers to add another stand inside the stadium. This and some 50 tickets from reservations that have not been collected mean that around 300 tickets are now still available to the general public.
Semi-finals in Pasching
4 p.m. Germany vs. Brazil
6 p.m. Austria vs. Argentina
Visit "Tournament - Teams" or details of the qualifying rounds scheduled prior to these matches.
