Our ARKU soccer team took part at this year's company tournament of SV Ulm. After successful participations in the past years, the team hoped to occupy one of the top places this year as well.
The following 11 players started for ARKU: Max Köhler, Simon Reiss, Andreas Zimmer, Daniel Stolzer, Fabian Friedrichs, Walerij Tokarchuk, Nils Löscher, Stefan Burgard, Anvar Toshmatov, Vallier Kirschner and Christian Armbruster.
In the group phase, our team had to compete with the opponents LStelcom, Autohaus Grethel, Social X and the JVA Offenburg. In the first group game against the JVA Offenburg we were surprisingly 1:0 behind, which the team could compensate by a goal by Andreas Zimmer in a 1:1. In the 2nd game against LStelcom, ARKU11's improved defensive play paid off, so that the only goal of the game by Daniel Stolzer was enough for victory. With the gained self-confidence they were able to defeat also the team of Social X with a 2:0 victory in the third group match. In this game it was Walerij Tokarchuk who ensured the victory with a side-footed shot after a cross from Nils Löscher and a great solo. In the final group match against Autohaus Grethel we met the clearly strongest opponent of the group. However, our ARKU team was able to play freely, since the advancement was already secured. In a competitive game it was our team that could first take a 1:0 lead, but in the last second had to concede the goal to lose 1:2.
After a short breather, the well-known strong team of Braun Sondermaschinenbau, against whom they had lost in last year's semifinal, was waiting in the semifinal match. Aware of this difficult task, the team showed a great defensive performance and could rely especially on the very strong support of goalkeeper Anvar Toshmatov. However, the ARKU team was also able to set offensive accents in this game, but had to be satisfied with the fair 0:0 after regular playing time. In the subsequent 9-meter shootout, it was the nerves of our team, which secured the entry into the final. Fabian Friedrichs, Christian Armbruster and Stefan Burgard scored from the 9-meter spot. In the final, the team of Autohaus Grethel, which we had already met in the group, was waiting again. In a hard-fought game, it was Nils Löscher who put our team in the lead with a dream goal. Afterwards, however, it was the opponent who stepped up his offensive efforts and was awarded an undisputed 9-meter in the last minute and used it to equalize 1-1. As in the semifinals, the game had to be decided in a 9-meter shootout. In this our ARKU team had to admit defeat after goals of Walerij Tokarchuk and Fabian Friedrichs after the missed 9-meter of Daniel Stolzer with 3:2. After a short disappointment about the missed tournament victory, the team could nevertheless draw a very positive balance with the 2nd place of 13 participating teams.
The ARKU soccer team would like to take this opportunity to thank the support in the house and the SV Ulm as the organizer of the tournament.
