This Saturday, the Oldenburg Knights will be battling against the Cottbus Crayfish to stay in the GFL2. Will this season also end with great relief? Would relegation mean a fall into the abyss?
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Oldenburg – The Oldenburg Knights actually wanted to avoid the big tremors like in 2023, but as in their debut season after promotion to the GFL2, the decision will only be made at the very end this time. Unlike almost exactly twelve months ago, however, head coach Sebastian Blase’s team has it entirely in their own hands this Saturday (kickoff: 4 p.m.) against the Cottbus Crayfish, who have already been relegated, whether they will be able to experience a third season in the second-highest German American football league.
FINALS IN LÜBECK AND COTTBUS Oldenburg Knights look for the emergency switch in the relegation battle
Jan Zur Brügge Bernd Teuber
Oldenburg
RETENTION IN GFL2 STILL POSSIBLE Oldenburg Knights fight for a final match against relegation
Bernd Teuber Hauke Richters
Oldenburg
The situation: “I haven’t yet thought about the regional league. I’ll only do that when I have to,” says Knights managing director Holger Völlig, completely ignoring a possible relegation scenario. Despite many setbacks and low points this season, the situation suddenly doesn’t look quite so precarious after last weekend’s results. A simple win in the catch-up game in Cottbus (4:14 points/7th place) is enough for the Oldenburgers (4:14/8th) to push the Bielefeld Bulldogs (6:14/6th) out of non-relegation place six.
The sweating: In 2023, the Knights had to sweat for about an hour after a 34:21 win against Langenfeld, until the Münster Blackhawks’ 28:27 win against the Solingen Paladins made it clear that the latter would be relegated. Despite Cottbus’s relegation (unlike the Knights, they lost the direct duel with Bielefeld), the catch-up game in Brandenburg (necessary because the first showdown at the beginning of June was abandoned due to a storm when the Knights were leading 21:0) will certainly not be an easy task.
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The momentum: The long journey, which starts at four in the morning, is a complicating factor. The Crayfish won the duel in Oldenburg just two weeks ago 45:23. “I think we will see a different game than in the first leg, as the victory in Lübeck has given the team a lot of momentum,” says Völling, referring to the 26:18 win against the Cougars (6:14/are safely fifth), with which the players fought their way to the “final” in Cottbus: “They showed there that they are there when it counts.”
The worries: “Next week, depending on how the game ended, we will decide at the shareholders’ meeting how we will proceed,” reveals Völling. He still feels the same football euphoria around the Knights as he did in the year they were promoted and is therefore not worried about being relegated: “The foundation is there, the basis is there.” He does not see any danger of falling into the abyss like other relegated teams – and in any case: “We are still playing in the GFL2. And we want to stay there.”
RELEGATION BATTLE IN GFL2 How a disadvantage becomes an advantage for the Oldenburg Knights
Bernd Teuber Jan Zur Bruges
Oldenburg
