Confident even without their star players: 1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis win 3:0 in Meister
1. FC Saarbrücken Tischtennis remain on track in the Tischtennis-Bundesliga. The team from Saarland clearly defeated reigning German champions TTF Ochsenhausen 3:0 on Saturday evening – once again confirming the depth and quality of their squad. As in the recent match against Bad Königshofen, FCS had to manage without some prominent names, but there was no sign of this causing any issue.
The opener in the sold-out Dr.-Hans-Liebherr-Halle was a crucial match between Darko Jorgic and Ochsenhausen’s top player Shunsuke Togami. As in the first leg in mid-December, the Saarbrücken player initially fell two sets behind but then progressively battled his way back into the match. Jorgic turned things around with increasing surety and faster pace, winning 3:2 (10:12, 10:12, 11:8, 11:7, 11:6). This means that the Slovenian still remains undefeated in the current Bundesliga season.
Eduard Ionescu provided a clear state of affairs in the second singles match. The Romanian was unstoppable against 17-year-old Tiago Abiodun and confidently won 3:0 (11:5, 11:7, 11:8). Ionescu built on his strong performance against Bad Königshofen and quickly put a stop to any attempts by his opponent to fight back.
The cherry on the cake came from defensive player Yuto Muramatsu, who also defeated Andreas Levenko in straight sets (11:9, 14:12, 12:10). Muramatsu remained calm at tight moments to secure an away win for Saarbrücken. This marked their sixth win in their last seven Bundesliga matches.
‘I am happy that we won. It is always hard to win here’, Jorgic said after the match, recalling that Saarbrücken have been foiled in Ochsenhausen several times in recent years. He also set out their long-term goal: ‘Our aim is to secure a playoff spot and then win the title.’
Our aim is to secure a playoff spot and then win the title.
Darko Jorgic
Comparisons with the previous season are remarkable, where FCS lost to TTF five times, including in the cup final and the championship semi-final. This season, the omens were different: Saarbrücken, won both league matches 3:0, plus a 3:1 victory in the cup semi-final. Whether the finals tournament in Frankfurt will bring another duel remains to be seen – Ochsenhausen are battling for a spot in the top four after staffing changes.
FCS remain in third place with 22:8 points, a comfortable distance away from the fifth-placed team. Things continue on Tuesday 10 February with a home game against TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau. A few days later, the Trierer Arena is playing host to the Champions League quarter-final second-leg match against GV Hennebont – after 3:0 in the first leg, another opportunity to underscore a strong international season.