Drama in the HLA final: Fivers defeat Hard in an exciting seven-meter thriller!

Drama in the HLA final: Fivers defeat Hard in an exciting seven-meter thriller!

In an exciting handball game that will go down in the annals of the Austrian handball community, the Fivers and HC Hard met on May 20, 2025 in the final of the Handball League Austria (HLA). The match was full of drama and thrills and ended in a close outcome.

Three days after the Red Devils' 40:38 win in overtime, which marked the regular period, the two teams competed again. In the first half, the Fivers home team found themselves in a strong position and were ahead by three goals at times. Nevertheless, a concentrated performance from Harder brought the game into halftime with a score of 18:18.

The course of the game

The start of the second half belonged to the team from Hard, who took the lead 21:18 with an impressive 5-0 run in the 37th minute. But the Fivers didn't give up. They fought their way back into the game and ended up going into the final quarter of an hour with a score of 29:27. This led to a thrilling finale as the Fivers overcame a two-goal deficit in the final two minutes of the dramatic second overtime period.

The game finally culminated in the seven-meter throw, where both Fivers goalie Leon Bergmann and hard goalie Golub Doknic each parried a shot. Doknic, who at the age of 43 not only shone as a penalty throw goalkeeper, contributed significantly to the victory with his own goal and thus became the match winner.

Outlook for the final series

The favorites are now waiting for their opponents in the “best of three” final series, which will begin on May 30th. In the parallel series, the team from Krems leads 1-0 before their second game on Wednesday at 8:20 p.m., which will be broadcast live on ORF Sport+. The outcome of this series will determine who Hard will face in the final.

The important role of handball in Austria and the history of this sport is diverse. The cradle of handball in Austria is the field of the Vienna Sports Club, where the first field games took place in 1921. The Austrian Handball Association (ÖHB) was founded in 1925 and has since experienced constant development, marked by numerous successes, such as the championships in the Champions League by the women's team from Hypo Niederösterreich. Playing handball is still very popular today and always attracts large numbers of spectators to the games. Wikipedia reports about the main key points and the development of sport in Austria.

The past games that the Fivers and Hard have played this season illustrate the rivalry and high competitiveness in Austrian handball. Another highlight will be the upcoming finals series, which is of great interest to fans and players alike. The Kleine Zeitung reports about the events and excitement that the game brought. For all handball enthusiasts, the time until the final remains exciting and full of anticipation.

Additional information about the sport and its historical background as well as current developments can be found at ORF Vorarlberg.