The winners of the past five Danish championships will meet up in Denmark’s semifinals this weekend as the Triangle Razorbacks face the Søllerød Gold Diggers and the Copenhagen Towers take on the surprising Amager Demons.
The Razorbacks have won six of the last 10 Mermaid Bowls while the Towers have won two (2014, 2013) and the Gold Diggers two as well (2009, 2010).
Triangle Razorbacks (9-1) – Søllerød Gold Diggers (6-4)
The defending champion Triangle Razorbacks face a Gold Diggers team they defeated in last year’s championship game and twice during the regular season. The Razorbacks enter the game with a 9-1 record and the second best offense behind Copenhagen and tied for the best defense.
The Søllerød Gold Diggers (6-4) got barely snuck into the semifinals. They had a tough time in their wild card game against the Aarhus Tigers and had to rely on a miraculous last minute comeback to win.
Nevertheless Razorbacks head coach Thomas Linnemann knows he is facing a difficult task:
I expect the game to be tight. The Gold Diggers are always a tough team to beat especially in the playoffs. So I expect it to come down to the lasts plays of the game to decide who will advance to the Mermaid Bowl. But I believe that if we play Razorback football we will come out on top.
Triangle running back Mathias Kragh, the 2015 league MVP, should be 100% for this game.
Gold Diggers head coach Troels Vestergaard, hopes his team can benefit from not being the favorites:
“We are underdogs in the game and therefore we can play a little more freely. I hope that it can help to get our team to gel better than in the last few games.”
The Razorbacks have had a week’s rest while Søllerød is still in playoff mode after beating the Tigers in the wild card game. Who has the advantage?
Triangle has to be the favorite, but in the playoffs anything can happen.
Last five games between these two teams:
Sept. 10, 2016 – Triangle Razorbacks – Søllerød Gold Diggers – 35-13
May 14, 2016 – Triangle Razorbacks – Søllerød Gold Diggers 23-7
Oct. 10 2015 – Triangle Razorbacks – Søllerød Gold Diggers – 21-17 Mermaid Bowl
Sept. 12, 2015 – Triangle Razorbacks – Søllerød Gold Diggers 21-16
Sept. 14, 2014 – Triangle Razorbacks – Søllerød Gold Diggers 42-20
Watch the Livestream by clicking on this link. Kickoff Friday Sept. 23 8:30 PM CET (2:30 PM EDT)
Photo credit: 1st Down Photo