Against the Netherlands: Bitter European Championship defeat for German handball women

With empty looks and hanging heads, Germany’s handball players crept off the floor after the bitter European Championship setback against the Netherlands. The 22:29 (14:15) defeat in the duel with the fifth-placed team in the World Cup almost shattered the delicate medal dreams of national coach Markus Gaugisch’s protégés early in the tournament. For the first European Championship precious metal in 30 years, the DHB women now need a little handball miracle.

“This is an absolutely deserved defeat. We had a great start and a lot of momentum. In the second half, the Dutch showed us why they are ahead of us,” said Gaugisch. And celebrator Alina Grijseels, who was the best German thrower with five goals in her 100th international match, summed up: “The disappointment is huge to have lost the game so clearly. We made too many easy mistakes and also those in the second half lack the necessary structure.”

The last opponent in the preliminary round is Iceland on Tuesday (8.30 p.m.). If they win, the DHB selection would certainly be in the main round, but they would go into it with zero points due to the defeat against the Orange selection. Two hot gold contenders await in the second phase of the tournament: Olympic champion Norway and Olympic third-placed Denmark.

Lightning start of the DHB selection

In addition to the ill Viola Leuchter, who was already missing from the 30:17 opening win against Ukraine, the DHB selection had to cope with another short-term loss. Playmaker Annika Lott also had to pass because of her injuries. Nevertheless, the German team started the game furiously in front of 2,437 spectators in Innsbruck and was three goals ahead at 6:3 after just under seven minutes. The defense stood securely, behind which goalkeeper Katharina Filter provided strong support.

Things also went well in attack at first. There was a lot of danger, especially from the backcourt with European Championship debutant Nina Engel and co-captains Emily Bölk and Grijseels. Even an early break by the Dutch coach didn’t disrupt the DHB team’s rhythm. The reward was a six-goal lead at 10:4 after a good twelve minutes.

German team shows nerves

But then the break came. In the middle of the first half, the DHB women missed a number of chances, including three seven-meter penalties. The Orange team caught up goal by goal. “We lost a little bit of calm and it was a different game,” said backcourt player Xenia Smits.

After almost 25 minutes, the comfortable cushion was used up at 12:12. In this phase, Germany remained without a goal for more than five minutes. In addition, Filter no longer got his hand on the ball, Sarah Wachter moved between the posts for her. Gaugisch’s protégés repeatedly failed because of Yara Ten Holte in the Dutch goal, who excelled with a total of 16 saves.

No improvement in the second half

After the change, the misery continued in attack. Nevertheless, the match remained close until 18:18. In the middle of the second half, the Dutch broke away for the first time with three goals. The German team chased after this deficit in vain. In the final phase, more and more gaps appeared in the defense, so that the hoped-for turnaround failed to materialize. “We had no access at all in the second half. We missed a lot of chances in attack and didn’t attack consistently enough in defense,” admitted Smits.