Handball European Championship
DHB women convince at the start of the EM main round
Germany’s Emily Bölk and Xenia Smits (white shirts) prevailed against the Netherlands. photo
© Kolektiff Images/dpa
In the first main round game of the European Championship, the German handball players show their best faces. The reward is the first two points in the second phase of the tournament.
Handball gala at the start of the main round: Germany’s women’s handball players have reported back to the European Championships with a glamorous prestige victory against the Netherlands and aroused new hopes.
Thanks to the convincing 36:28 (17:13) in a duel with the 2019 world champion in front of 389 spectators in Skopje, the team of national coach Markus Gaugisch scored the first two points in the second phase of the tournament, in which Olympic champions France and Romania are the other opponents.
After five defeats, it was Germany’s first win against their arch-rival from the neighboring country in a good two years. Like the Dutch women, the DHB selection now has 2: 4 points and, after the disappointing preliminary round, is at least aiming for the game for fifth place again. This requires third place in the main round group II. The best German throwers were backcourt player Alina Grijseels with eight goals and left winger Johanna Stockschläder (7).
DHB selection as exchanged
The DHB selection presented itself after the move to the North Macedonian metropolis compared to the weak performance at 21:23 in the preliminary round final against Spain. The German team made a few more mistakes at the beginning and was quickly three goals behind at 2:5 after five minutes. But this time, the Gaugisch protégés were undeterred.
With a 4:0 run from 5:8 to 9:8, a lead was achieved for the first time in the middle of the first half, which gave additional security. The defense was compact and in attack the chances were used more consistently than in the previous games. Stockschläder in particular proved to be very efficient in closing during this phase.
As a result, the DHB team also acted in a concentrated manner and, above all, was convincing in a combative manner. The reward: three minutes before the break, the cushion was three goals at 16:13. And it got even better as the improved Julia Maidhof extended the half-time lead to four goals.
After the change, Germany even pulled away by five goals at 21:16. But this rhythm did not continue. Some lack of concentration immediately reduced the lead to two goals.
However, the Oranje women also acted incorrectly because the German cover was constantly putting pressure on them. This is how ball wins, which were used with fast counter-attacks to easy goals, were achieved again and again. In addition, goalkeeper Katharina Filter was a strong support. In the middle of the second half, at 27:23, things continued to look good for the DHB team, which continued to extend the lead in the final phase and finally celebrated an unexpectedly clear victory.