West Vienna in the Cup

Defending champions hot for the next big thing

Last season, they were quite literally the Cup sensation: West Wien's handball team won the title as the second division team against hosts Schwaz. On Sunday evening, top league team Bruck/Trofaiach awaits in this year's round of 16 at home. And that in their first appearance after the long, match-free winter break.

The Greens' last match was on December 21. They won 30:24 at Ferlach to move ahead of Bärnbach/Köflach in the HLA relegation battle. After the long break, the team will return to Stadthalle B on Sunday (5:30 p.m.) for the ÖHB Cup clash against championship leaders Bruck/T. "After the long break, we're already fired up for the cup game against the BT Füchse. It will be very tough. But we're highly motivated and really want to progress," says Aufbau talent Clemens Möstl. "We know from last year that the Cup has its own rules!"

West Vienna as Cup winners 2024 - a handball fairytale!(Bild: West Wien)

The defending champions from Vienna enter the competition in the round of 16 due to their participation in the European Cup. Despite the tough opponent, coach Roland Marouschek's talented squad wants to continue the positive trend from their last away win in Ferlach. Back then, Luca Gareis said: "We were able to play ourselves into a frenzy thanks to a brilliant defensive and goalkeeping performance and kept up our strong performance throughout the entire match." The team around the Kofler brothers Gabriel and Jonas, most recently in the army, now want to show this euphoria again and move on to the next round.

The Styrian BT Füchse prevailed in the second round of the cup at Sportunion Leoben, also won the two previous duels against West Vienna in the league and go into the game as favorites. But so did Schwaz in the last final, who as hosts of the Cup Final Four trailed 10:15 at the break and lost 28:29 in the end. After the sensational title coup, top scorer Clemens Möstl's team, whose brother and World Cup keeper Consti had been watching, were naturally overjoyed. 

Atzgersdorf won the women's round of 16 on Saturday in Eggenburg by a clear 33:25 after trailing 12:13 at the break. The MGA Fivers will host the BT Füchse on Sunday (16).