Frankfurt Galaxy fights for the playoffs: “There is no more room for mistakes” | hessenschau.de
Despite the third loss of the season, the playoffs for the Frankfurt Galaxy footballers are still within reach. Coach Thomas Kösling heralds the crunch time – and knocks out another key player.
The upward trend of the Frankfurt Galaxy in the European League of Football (ELF) has stopped for the time being. After two wins in a row, the defending champions lost their third game of the season against the Raiders Tirol on Sunday and also had to let the Austrians pass them in the Central Conference table.
“That was the sticking point”
Head coach Thomas Kösling was torn in his analysis of the narrow 17:23 bankruptcy. “The defeat hurts, but it’s to be accepted because it was a good game and you have to show respect to Innsbruck,” he said in an interview with hr-Sport. It can happen that you lose points in Tyrol with a difference of six. However, the coach was still annoyed by a key scene in the first half.
Shortly before the half-time whistle, the Hessians received a penalty because they had one man too many on the field. The result: Innsbruck was given a first down and shortly afterwards scored another touchdown. Instead of 7:7, the Galaxy is 7:14 behind at the break. “That was the crux of the matter,” said Kösling, who still believes in the playoff franchise, but also knows that his team is no longer allowed to hand out gifts like this: “There’s no more room for mistakes.”
Playoff chances are still good
Only the three conference winners and the best runners-up from all groups make it into the post-season. Because the Vienna Vikings still have a clean record after five games in the Frankfurt conference, the Hessians probably only have second place as an option.
The good from Frankfurt’s point of view: With two wins and three defeats, they are not doing so badly in the race for the “last” playoff place. Innsbruck is within striking distance with a 3:2 record and many 3:2 and 2:3 teams are also fighting for second place in the other divisions. The bad news for the Galaxy: With defender Joshua Poznanski there is another loss to complain about.
Poznanski threatens the end of the season
The defensive back injured his ankle in Innsbruck. “In the best-case scenario, it’s severe ligament strains, but something has probably torn,” said Kösling’s first assessment. In the worst case, Poznanski ended the season with a syndesmosis injury. After O-Liner Lars Hampel, running back Gennadiy Adams and linebacker Sebastian Gauthier, he would be the fourth key player to end the season prematurely.
However, Kösling does not accept the plight of the injured as an excuse. “If we want to be a top team and play for the playoffs, then we have games to win,” is his simple motto to be there after the regular season. Next Sunday (3 p.m.) the Galaxy is challenged at Stuttgart Surge. The Swabians have not yet had a single win on their account. The Galaxy will do everything to ensure that nothing changes over the weekend.