The German national handball team also celebrated a success in the second game at the Handball European Championships in Bratislava and won against Austria with 34:29. As in the opening win against Belarus, the selection of national coach Alfred Gislason did not come into play well, but improved again in the second half and finally celebrated a secure victory. Now the main round is within reach, the last preliminary round game against the Poles follows on Tuesday.
Gislason did not send the successful formation of the Belarus victory to the floor, which was not possible anyway after Julius Kühn’s corona infection, who had to watch the game from the quarantine hotel without doing anything. Rather, the Icelander again had a few surprises in store, especially Till Klimpke was not necessarily to be expected in goal. The tournament newcomer got off to a bad start against Belarus and had to give way to veteran Andreas Wolff after just ten minutes.
This time, however, the 23-year-old was immediately on the post, made a number of first-class saves and was “a bit overwhelmed” after the triumph. Nevertheless, the German selection found it difficult to get going again, which was again due to the shaky defense in the first half. “It has to change that we start so badly in every game because of a holey defense,” said national coach Gislason.
In addition, the opponent presented themselves significantly improved compared to the defeat against Poland. Austria’s Slovenian coach Ales Pajovic had complained about a weak defense, with visible success: the defenders attacked Germany with much more commitment. In addition, goalkeeper Golub Doknic, who at the ripe old age of 39 played only his fifth game for the Austrian team, was in top form. Everything was already at stake for the Austrians, only the first two teams of each preliminary round group will move into the main draw.
Again, the German selection shows a significant increase in performance in the second half
In attack, Austria had already convinced in the first comparison, now the returnee Nikola Bylik in particular acted in strong form. The powerful backcourt player, who is under contract with THW Kiel and was given the title “world class” by national coach Gislason, was getting closer to his best form and was the expected strong support with seven goals. Sebstian Frimmel, who plays for Hungarian Champions League club Szeged, was even more successful with nine goals.
The Austrians try with all means, here Nikola Bilyk (right) bravely reaches into Johannes Golla’s jersey.
(Photo: Marijan Murat/dpa)
As in the first game, the DHB selection went into the break with a deficit, Austria led 16:15. And like against Belarus, the team knew how to improve. It was particularly remarkable that Gislason did not rely on the experienced forces. The Icelander made lively changes and gave almost all players playing time. They knew how to thank him: Sebastian Heymann replaced Kühn not only thanks to his five goals in an impressive manner, Lukas Mertens was preferred on the left wing to Marcel Schiller, who was so strong recently, and scored six times. Luca Witzke (three goals) impressed as a playmaker, while Julian Köster, Simon Ernst and Christoph Steinert worked effectively on the defensive. Right winger Lukas Zerbe scored his first European Championship goal.
The most successful thrower, however, was one of the well-established forces in the German team: Timo Kastening, who was also voted man of the match, had to spend most of his time on the bench against Belarus, but against Austria he was able to let off steam with nine goals.
Again it was the breadth of the German squad that ultimately made the difference, towards the end the Austrians ran out of strength. The opponent has a strong top six, but the rest of the squad is mainly made up of second-class players, many players are engaged in the second Bundesliga. Ultimately, the 34:29 win was more or less befitting, now it’s up to the Poles on Tuesday to win the group.