As of: 01/16/2022 7:32 p.m
A strong young goalkeeper Till Klimpke and a broad squad have given the German national handball team its second win in the second European Championship game.
The DHB selection won on Sunday evening (January 16, 2022) in Bratislava against the Austrians 34:29 (15:16) and with one game left against Poland on Tuesday, they now have excellent chances of making it into the main round. If the Poles beat Belarus in the game late on Sunday evening, they will be confirmed as main participants just like the Germans. If the Belarusians win, a defeat on Tuesday has to be reckoned with again. Thanks to the two now clear victories, the German chances would be good.
National coach Alfred Gislason, who is on the Julius Kühn tested positive for the corona virus had to do without, in the starting line-up against the Alpine Republic again opted for young goalkeeper Till Klimpke instead of Andreas Wolff. The two changes compared to the starting line-up in the first group match against Belarus: Timo Kastening started on the right wing instead of Christoph Steinert, Lukas Mertens on the other side instead of Marcel Schiller. So a new pair of wing pliers.
Light in the front, shadow in the back
Kastening, who was freshly flushed into the starting lineup, missed the first shot by the Germans and, as against Belarus, the Gislason seven initially found it difficult to get into the encounter. Only after six minutes did Sebastian Heymann score the first goal from the half-left position to make it 1:3. When Klimpke made his third save of the game shortly afterwards and the Germans were successful in return with a Kempa trick, the problems at the start were overcome to some extent.
If Marcel Schiller hadn’t gone empty-handed with two penalty throws in the phase that now follows, the DHB selection might even have been able to pull away a little. However, converting chances was a constant problem. So the Austrians around Nikola Bilyk from Kiel stayed in the game and were in the lead for large parts. It was 8:9 after 18 minutes from a German perspective.
Klimpke protects the defense from worse
Gislason had also given Simon Ernst and Djibril M’Bengue time on the defensive. They did their job quite well, but were in the shadow of Klimpke, who ran hotter and hotter and was one reason why the DHB team’s subsequent phase of weakness did not have any worse consequences. He made eight saves in the first half.
Shortly before the break, Gislason brought the next “tournament greenhorns” into play in Luca Witzke and Julian Köster. Also to set up the defense more offensively. The national coach could not be satisfied with the performance of his defense. With the half-time siren, Heymann scored at 15:16 – damage limitation. The Austrians, who had lost to Poland weakened by corona at the start and were therefore doomed to win, showed themselves to be more aggressive and repeatedly found their pivot in the attack.
Germany has more grains again
But the half-time score should have been the last lead for coach Ales Pajovic’s team. As against Belarus, the better physique and squad width of the Germans gradually made themselves felt. Steinert was again a stability factor in defense. With all the offensive shine that playmaker Witzke and Heymann sprayed up front, the Austrians continued to fight against the German cover, especially through the not always saddle-steady center.
The passionate outsider did not allow himself to be completely shaken off. But whenever it looked like the Pajovic seven could come back, Klimpke was there. 17 minutes before the end, the Germans were ahead with three goals for the first time – 24:21. At 30:26, just ten minutes before the end, there were already four of them. The Austrians now looked visibly exhausted and Gislason used his entire squad to bring the win home. In the end, the best pitcher was Kastening, who scored nine goals. Klimpke made 14 saves from 39 throws – a great rate of over 35 percent.
Gislason: “It was really good afterwards”
“I think the second half was a good one for us, both front and back,” said the national coach after the game on the ARD microphone and also praised his keeper’s performance. “We were quite far apart at the back, of course that wasn’t the plan. But it got better in the second half. After that it was really good,” explained the Icelander.
Source: sportschau.de