Season 02/03 (LFA)

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First Division

The opening match is between SV Rosenville and SSV Gevla 1907, and thus cannot nominally hold a greater difference, yet there is a certain logic to be recognized behind it. The champion of the second league meets the Loewenburg champion – thus the championship duel can commence! 23,000 spectators in the sold-out Rosenviller Stadium of the Rosenarena witness a true home spectacle – the “Dornenkurve” can erupt as a 2-to-1 home victory is secured. In the last minute, a spectacular curling shot decides the game! 3,000 traveling away fans leave the stadium. Unbelievable!

Another traditional duel awaits in the next game, as Legio Loewenburg and FC Wohia Kickers face off after two years of opening matches on the first matchday. This time, Legio wins 2-0, which greatly pleases the traveling fans. From the rest of the matchday, it is evident that the former second-league teams have had quite a good start to the season. On 1st, 5th, 6th, and 7th place are Eintracht Alterwar, Haschborg 04, Neustadt, and Rosenville. The Loewenburg teams from the capital have also had a great start, with Legio and the King’s Team sharing 1st place. SSV Gevla quickly balanced out the error from the first matchday with a 1:0 win at Wohia Kickers, meaning the latter have indeed had a very poor season start.

Rosenville wins again, 1:0 against Feuerbrandt. The euphoria around Legio fades after a 2-4 loss to Haschborg, leaving Legio fans once again facing an unpredictable season. The King’s Team also faces its first defeat against SK Sturm Beatrixa – so perhaps, again, no season at the top. Everything as before. However, what is still not the same as before is the incredible performance of four former second-league teams at the top – Haschborg 04 in 1st place, Neustadt, Rosenville, and Alterwar in 2nd, 3rd, and 5th. Only Eisenberg FC manages to break through in between them. A win by Wohia Kickers over FC Haschborg marks Rosenville’s first loss. After the third matchday, there is truly no club left that stands undefeated at the top without a loss or a draw. The only undefeated club is BFC Neustadt, who is now in 1st place. Winless, i.e., without a win or a draw, there is no club left either, but VfR Wengen and Borussia Walste remain without a win. The Lords and Plebs FC is on the second-to-last relegation spot – a disastrous season start so far.

On the 5th day, last year's Loewenburg champion suffers a bitter 1-5 defeat against the slowly warming-up FC Haschborg, gaining an astonishing 11-place jump. It seems that the infamous champion’s curse still holds sway. Then there is a relatively brutal change as SK Sturm Beatrixa crushes BFC Neustadt 5-0. Also at the top with the same point total (in this order) are 1. FC Kaiserclaw, King’s Team, SV Haschborg 04, and Hansa Kolsche. Thus, after MD4, BFC Neustadt’s record is also officially broken. VfR Wengen and Lords and Plebs FC remain winless at the bottom.

In the great traditional duel of MD5, 1. FC Kaiserclaw narrowly wins against Legio Loewenburg, but SK Sturm Beatrixa retains 1st place with a win against Hansa Kolsche. Legio continues to slide down and is now back to 16th place. Below them are Gevla and FC Wohia Kickers, both at the bottom and still winless.

MD6: Utrespor already secures their fourth draw this season against Gevla. Wengen gets their first victory against Feuerbrandt! And the Loewenburg Derby between Legio and King’s Team takes place. This duel hasn’t been so different in a long time, with King’s Team at the top and able to secure the top of the table with a win, while Legio desperately needs these points, as they have now slipped to the second-to-last direct relegation spot. Legio is narrowly disappointed once again, as KT is in 1st place and could claim another championship! After this brief stint, SK Sturm Beatrixa reclaims the top spot. In the absolute basement duel between LaPFC and Legio L., Legio narrowly but deservedly wins. LaPFC remains brutally at the very bottom without a single season victory, with only 2 points.

By MD9, Gevla’s situation is worsening, as even second-to-last Wengen could beat them. At the top, Kaiserclaw comes forward again, living up to their motto, “Good against the Good, weak against the Weak,” with a win over Borussia Walste. On the same matchday, the absolute top match and simultaneous derby between SK Sturm Beatrixa (1st) and Sturm Baltika Fußball (3rd) takes place. The league leader wins 2-0 and now leads the table with a 4-point gap. The King’s Team extends its losing streak of three defeats to Utrespor. The newly promoted Rosenville narrowly secures a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Alterwar, now back up to 3rd place. Conversely, Alterwar falls to 16th place and might slide into the brutal relegation battle this season. However, Loewenburg slowly begins to climb back up from the midfield with two victories.

A true spectacle ensues in what seemed to be a clearly defined game between Kaiserclaw and Gevla, as an incredible 8 goals are scored in a draw. After an astonishing 9 matchdays, Lords and Plebs FC finally breaks their zero-mark, securing their first season win. Gevla now falls to last place.

MD12 displays the interesting contrasts that have established themselves in the league over the season – Legio Loewenburg has fought its way up from the relegation battle to an unbelievable 2nd place, while their major rival with a strong season start, the King’s Team, has simply dropped to 14th place. Lords and Plebs FC, after a previously horrific season, has won three consecutive games and is now in the relegation spot. Neustadt, once an early season giant, is in 16th, with Wengen even above them. Sturm Baltika Fußball is in 11th place, with SK Beatrixa still at the top, followed by Kaiserclaw, Haschborg, Rosenville, and Borussia Walste.

Kaiserclaw surpasses SK Sturm Beatrixa on MD14, but the latter manages to reclaim first place by defeating Legio on the next matchday, as Kaiserclaw also loses to 6th-place Rosenville. Gevla has meanwhile climbed back to 11th after a good winning streak. A shocking upset comes from bottom-ranked Feuerbrandt, who defeats 5th-place Borussia Walste 5-1. And once again, Feuerbrandt (still bottom-ranked) shocks second-place Kaiserclaw with a 3-1 victory. Absolute underdogs defeating absolute top teams – unbelievable! And still, they remain in last place!

In MD17, Sturm Baltika Fußball triumphs over Borussia Walste with a 5-1 win, moving up to second place. It seems to be a direct duel this season between the two fierce rivals for the championship – exciting! The next MD sees a derby between SV Haschborg 04 and FC Haschborg, with the former winning 1-0, moving up to 7th place, just one spot above their archrival from Haschborg. Both major traditional clubs with thrilling derbies.

Let’s take a look at MD20 and the official mid-season standings. SK Sturm Beatrixa remains at the top with a 6-point lead over second-place Legio Loewenburg and third-place SV Rosenville. They are followed by Sturm Baltika Fußball, Eisenberg FC, SV Haschborg 04, and 1. FC Kaiserclaw. Then come Borussia Walste and, surprisingly, Lords and Plebs FC, who have climbed up to 9th place. In mid-table are Haschborg, Wengen, Wohia Kickers, Alterwar, Gevla, and Feuerbrandt – all of whom have also clawed their way back up. Lower down are Hansa Kolsche and Utrespor. Unfortunately, the once-great King’s Team has landed on the relegation spot, hoping not to fall further. Wyvern Rot-Weiß and, at the very bottom, BFC Neustadt round out the standings. However, everything is incredibly close.

MD23 brings another surge of excitement at the top as Rosenville seizes first place – could they even make a historic run all the way to the top as last season's second-league champion? It would be an unimaginable feat, who knows! They are followed by SK and SB Fußball, then Eisenberg FC and Legio. Neustadt remains in the direct relegation zone, as does Kolsche, with Alterwar potentially facing a brutal relegation battle. Wyvern Rot-Weiß stuns with a spectacular 5-0 victory over third-place Sturm Baltika Fußball. In the absolute top match, SK Sturm Beatrixa defeats SV Rosenville 2-0, securing the top spot once again. Loewenburg’s club Legio takes revenge by defeating the King’s Team 2-0, putting them back on the relegation spot to the second league. In the next “Sturmderby,” this time Sturm Baltika Fußball wins 2-0, with SK still holding the top spot and SBF moving up to 3rd place.

MD30 is over – time for another look at the standings. From the bottom up: in negative form at the very bottom sits Hansa Kolsche, with only 7 wins and 5 draws. A total of 18 defeats are in their record. Above them is BFC Neustadt, with a 5-point gap, keeping a good view over the field ahead. The King’s Team is back on the relegation spot, followed by Lords and Plebs FC, 1829 Feuerbrandt, and Eintracht Alterwar. Moving into the midfield, we find Wyvern Rot-Weiß – who fought their way out of the lower ranks with a good winning streak – then FC Wohia Kickers, FC Haschborg, SSV Gevla 1907, and in 10th place, SV Haschborg 04. Moving up, we have Borussia Walste, SV Utrespor – also on an incredible winning streak right now – 1. FC Kaiserclaw, Legio Loewenburg, and, completely unexpectedly, VfR Wengen in 5th place. With over 50 points and currently a 6-point gap, we have Sturm Baltika Fußball and SV Rosenville. In second place sits SK Sturm Beatrixa, and with just one win difference, Eisenberg FC holds a surprising first place. They emerged from the shadows with consistent performances. After a brief comeback by Sturm Beatrixa, Eisenberg managed to reclaim first place in MD32 with a last-minute goal for a 1-0 victory in their direct duel.

Three matchdays remain until the season ends, presenting the following situation in the standings: in first place is SK Sturm Beatrixa Fußball, followed closely by Eisenberg FC with a 1-point difference, and Rosenville is 3 points behind. Nominally, Sturm Baltika Fußball, in fourth place, still has a chance to claim the championship, but only if the others lose everything, which is highly unlikely. Wengen and Loewenburg are further down and likely have no chance for a podium finish. At the bottom, the King’s Team is far down in last place. Between them and Hansa Kolsche, the order can still be determined, but a save on the relegation spot from Neustadt is only possible if they lose the matches, which is also highly unlikely. Neustadt, Wyvern, Feuerbrandt, Alterwar, and perhaps even LaPFC are vying for the relegation spot among themselves. Incredible historical decisions loom, as the best club in lionsroar history could even be relegated.

An incredibly important victory for Hansa Kolsche in the relegation duel against BFC Neustadt brings them within just one point of BFC Neustadt. In the duel for the top spot, Eisenberg loses 1-0 to Legio. Rosenville also loses 5-2 to Lords and Plebs FC. King’s Team loses to Feuerbrandt and is thus virtually relegated. Feuerbrandt secures themselves a bit from the relegation zone. SK Sturm Beatrixa narrowly wins 3-2, nearly securing the championship – no title-losing errors are likely to happen.

It is the penultimate matchday, and with an incredible 3-2 victory, Hansa Kolsche saves themselves ahead of time against SSV Gevla, securing the relegation spot. Rosenville wins against Neustadt, sending them directly to the relegation zone but themselves still holding second place. Eisenberg FC only manages a draw against FC Wohia Kickers, and SK Sturm Beatrixa now secures the championship with 69 points and a large goal difference of +27. Eisenberg FC and Rosenville can no longer make up this goal difference with a win. The final relegation of King’s Team in last place is now confirmed after a 2-0 defeat to Wyvern Rot-Weiß. An incredible historical transformation!

Sturm Beatrixa loses 3-0 to Utrespor, but can still celebrate the championship. Now, on to the final MD: Gevla faces Legio, which they lose 3-2, Kolsche manages only a draw against Rosenville, thus standing on the relegation spot with 43 points. Neustadt would have to make up for this with a positive goal difference to avoid relegation. Rosenville stands in second place for the moment after the draw. Wohia Kickers and Alterwar end scoreless, the latter securing their first-ever league survival. And finally: Neustadt manages only a draw against Feuerbrandt, placing them in the second direct relegation spot. Kolsche has saved themselves but now faces the challenge of winning against the third-placed team of the second league. The nerves are therefore far from calm.

With a 2-1 victory, Eisenberg claims the runner-up position, displacing Rosenville once again. LaPFC finishes in 8th place after a win over Wyvern Rot-Weiß. In their pre-final match in the first league, King’s Team achieves a consolation victory of 2-0 against the final fourth-placed Sturm Baltika Fußball. Sturm Beatrixa does not win their last match against Borussia Walste, but the positive goal difference of +4 compared to second-place Eisenberg FC secures their victory. And in the last game of the season, 1. FC Kaiserclaw and VfR Wengen face off: the latter achieves an incredible 5th place with a win.