Boys in Brown meet Sandhausen in a veritable six-pointer
Thursday, 04. February 2021, 18:00 Uhr
The 90 minutes at Heidenheim last Sunday were not for the faint-hearted. Timo Schultz's side had to take the lead four times before the three points, and the first ever victory at the Voith Arena, were finally in the bag. There was little time to celebrate, however, as the Boys in Brown go again in another crunch clash at home to SV Sandhausen on Friday evening (18:30 CET).
The Schultz XI ended a marathon seven-game January schedule having successfully played their way out of the drop zone. That does not mean they can take a breather in February, though. Friday's visit of Sandhausen marks the start of a series of games against teams within a few points of the Boys in Brown. In the first half of the season, a 1-0 defeat at Sandhausen ushered in a winless run that sent them sliding down the table and only came to a halt with the 3-2 win at Hannover 13 games later.
With three wins from their last four outings, the Boys in Brown are on a bit of a roll now and hopefully that will continue over the next few games. The confidence, the naturalness and the little bit of luck you need at the key moments have returned. The resulting upbeat mood in the camp is a plus, but only as long as the protagonists understand that while progress has been made, the final goal is still a long way off.
Nevertheless, the six-pointer against SV Sandhausen offers an opportunity to take another step forward. The visitors come to the Millerntor with an experienced squad and will no doubt see it the same way. Sandhausen are not without their strengths and pose a particular threat from set pieces, though frontmen Kevin Behrens, Julius Biada and Daniel Keita-Ruel, feeding off a constant supply of crosses from the attacking full-backs, are equally as dangerous from open play.
Scoring one more than the opposition on the scale of last weekend will not always be possible. The Boys in Brown must defend better as a collective, while continuing to nourish their appetite for goals. With the belief in their own ability well and truly back, this is not the time for a setback. Friday night's game will show if the turnaround is real.
Photos: Witters
