by Simon Daish
Roskilde visited Poland for the first Group D fixture against K.S. Dekorglass Dzialdowo and came away with a surprise 2-3 win to claim two valuable group stage points.
Michael Maze, who has recently been spending his time as a team captain in the T2 APAC league, contributed an important straight games victory over Jiri Vrablik (6-11, 7-11, 5-11) and pushed Kenta Matsudaira right down to the wire (9-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-3) to mark a successful return to Champions League action for the Dane.
“I have to admit that I did not even count on playing so well! Before the match I had not exercised much since the summer, except for the last three days prior to the match. But my body is good, and I am still lucky enough to hit the ball well”, Michael Maze.
Such was the quality of Michael Maze’s comeback display that even Roskilde coach Allan Bentsen admitted his surprise at the superb performance from the 2005 World Championship bronze medallist.
“I was really surprised that Maze could play like he did, but he has had some rest and his body is okay. He had a lot of fun so maybe he can produce more good performances in the upcoming matches”, Allan Bentsen.
The opening round of results sees Roskilde Bordtennis BTK61 off to a fantastic start in Group D with the Danish club occupying second position in the standings.
However, a difficult encounter with G.V Hennebont awaits Roskilde on Friday 13th October and coach Allan Bentsen believes that his players will need the full support of the home fans if the team is to cause another Group D upset.
“The match against Hennebont will be as difficult as all the others. They beat Dusseldorf. But we hope to have a full hall behind us, and that our players can find a good level again then anything can happen!”, Allan Bentsen.
Source: ETTU