German Football League 2: Leipzig Lions battle against the ‘ugly specter’

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The Leipzig Lions are in the middle of their second GFL2 season. However, following two early wins, they have now come crashing down to earth with a bump in the harsh reality of the league. Following a heavy 0–42 defeat away to the Hamburg Pioneers, they also suffered a surprisingly heavy 10–33 home defeat against the Langenfeld Longhorns on Saturday. Lions head coach Carsten Kunz was fed up. Following the match, he spoke in an interview with the LZ about the current problems and the team’s hopes for the future.

For the Leipzig side, in their second season in Germany’s second-highest American football division, the priority remains avoiding relegation. The formula is simple: don’t finish bottom of the table! In their debut season, two wins were enough to achieve this. However, they had to hold their breath right up until the final matchday. This time round, the current situation is already somewhat more comfortable. After all, they had already secured two wins by the fifth match. Their 13–10 opening-day victory against newly promoted Minden Wolves was later followed by a nail-biting 22–21 win away at the Langenfeld Longhorns.

And it was the Longhorns who, with just one win of the season to their name so far, were the visitors to the Leipzig Lions at the Markkleeberg Sportpark Camillo Ugi last Saturday, 25 July. It was therefore understandable that the Leipzig Lions harboured justified hopes of another victory in front of their home crowd. But it became clear far too early in the match: it wasn’t going to happen. The Lions seemed far too lacklustre, conceding no fewer than four touchdowns – complete with conversion – to the Longhorns by the middle of the second quarter. The score was 0–27!

Mohamed Traore (#31, Langenfeld Longhorns) with the ball. Photo: Jan Kaefer

Before half-time, a field goal from Jonas Georgi and a touchdown from Jan Rubitzko – plus an extra point from Georgi – improved the score slightly. The teams went into the break with the score at 10–27. However, not much else happened in terms of scoring after that. The Lions were unable to build on their lead; instead, they repeatedly got drawn into scuffles and provocations, with yellow flags fluttering onto the pitch like a swarm of lemon butterflies on a company outing. Langenfeld finally sealed the 10–33 final score with their fifth touchdown of the match.

Lions head coach Carsten Kunz had certainly envisaged things very differently. We spoke to him after the match:

Mr Kunz, what’s your initial take on today’s match?

We’d actually expected to come away from here as winners. Especially as it was a home game, with a great atmosphere, brilliant weather and a fantastic crowd. Unfortunately, we were completely off the pace in the first half. The defence made a few individual errors and failed to tackle properly. Langenfeld, of course, exploited that ruthlessly with their import players.

In the second half, the defence was better, but we really need to find our rhythm on offence. It’s missing. Things did look quite good in the fourth quarter, but Langenfeld played ‘bend but don’t break’ – in other words: we let them push us back, but we didn’t break and didn’t allow any big plays. That, of course, took a lot of time off the clock. That’s how you play when you’re leading by three scores.

How can you explain this current slump, given that there was also a heavy defeat in the previous match?

I think that, because of the two wins right at the start of the season, the team perhaps became a bit too complacent. We coaches always try to prepare the lads for the next opponent; we put a lot of effort into video scouting and so on. But somehow we’re not managing to get that across to the players in a way that they can put it into practice on the pitch.

We coaches will sit down together at the next training session and analyse this again, so that we can prepare the lads mentally for the remaining matches in such a way that we can actually win. There are still two home matches left – against Elmshorn and Krefeld – and in between we’re away at Minden.

Head coach Carsten Kunz (Leipzig Lions). Photo: Jan Kaefer

Today’s match seemed very disjointed, with lots of niggly incidents and minor outbursts of aggression. Is that a sign that their minds weren’t really focused?

Exactly, it’s a sign that the players aren’t really focused on the game. They’re getting distracted by all sorts of trivial things. I don’t know if this is a mental issue for individual players. There are, of course, players who are mentally strong enough to handle it all – who make their mark on the pitch during the play, show what they’re capable of, and simply don’t let themselves be provoked. Other, younger players still need to grow into that role. And that, I think, is precisely our problem.

The Leipzig Lions’ second season in the GFL2 is, of course, a tough one. I’ve always said: the second year is always the toughest. And when things aren’t going well, it’s always a good test of a team’s mettle and character. We’re currently showing our ugly side a bit. I’m really not keen on that, because it’s not what I, as a coach, want to teach the players and instil in them.

When we’re leading by a landslide, I always say: “Win it with class” – don’t get cocky, stay professional. But the same must apply when we’re seemingly trailing by an insurmountable margin. Even then, we must have the class and professionalism to simply focus on the next play, so that we’re still in a position to turn the game around. We simply didn’t manage that today – and we didn’t manage it against Hamburg either. In the end, the scoreboard makes it very clear that, given the performance we put in, we deserved this result.

Luca Brinner (#27, RB, Leipzig Lions) in possession. Photo: Jan Kaefer

What do we now need to achieve from the three remaining matches to secure our place in the league?

Minden haven’t won a single match so far, so things are naturally looking increasingly bleak for them. But looking down the table can’t be our motivation. After all, we want to keep improving and moving up the table, also with a view to future seasons. That’s why we must – and want to – look up the table.

However, we cannot rest on our laurels with the two wins we’ve already secured. Those victories were by a margin of three points and one point respectively – so they weren’t exactly convincing. We need to work on that so that one day we can say: ‘The Lions clearly deserved this win; there were no doubts from the outset.’ That’s where we want to get to.

We’ve now got three games left. To be realistic, it’ll obviously be tough against Krefeld – they’re top of the league. But against Elmshorn, whom I’d rate as evenly matched, and against Minden, who haven’t won a game yet, two more wins are still within our reach.

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The Leipzig Lions’ remaining fixtures

Sat, 8 August at 3 pm: Elmshorn Fighting Pirates (home match)
Sat 15 August at 3 pm: Minden Wolves (away match)
Sat 22 August at 4 pm: Krefeld Ravens (home match / rescheduled fixture)

Home matches will be played at the Camillo Ugi Sports Park in Markkleeberg (Städtelner Str. 101).