Germany’s handball women started their European Championship qualification with a lackluster victory.
In the 31:24 (15:14) against Ukraine, the DHB selection acted incorrectly for a long time and revealed some construction sites on the way to the World Cup in December. In front of 2,423 spectators in Wetzlar, Alina Grijseels was the best thrower for national coach Markus Gaugisch’s team with seven goals.
“You could see that Ukraine has a good team,” said Grijseels on the TV channel Sport1. They were prepared for it, but the start was not as the team had imagined. “It was better at the back, especially in the second half. I think if you’re five goals down and then win by seven goals, then you can be somewhat satisfied,” said the backcourt player from FC Metz in France.
“Plus seven after minus five is a good result”
Gaugisch stated that the opponent made life difficult for the host with aggressive defense. “We then fought our way through combat and basic cover and pulled it off very confidently. Plus seven after minus five is a good result,” he said.
The second European Championship qualifier against Israel planned for Saturday in Tel Aviv was canceled by the European Handball Federation due to the current political situation. An alternative date is not fixed yet. The third German opponent in Group 2 is Slovakia. The two best teams will surely qualify for the finals next year in Hungary, Austria and Switzerland.
DHB team with a weak start
The German team made a false start to the game and was already four goals behind (2:6) after less than seven minutes. The defense had no access to the nimble Ukrainians and in attack the DHB selection had a lot of easy ball losses and missed throws.
The European Championship seventh place got the game under control a little better in the middle of the first half. However, they only took the lead for the first time six minutes before the break at 13:12. At the break everything was still open.
After the change, the defense was more compact and things went a little better on offense. The favored DHB team was finally able to break away somewhat, but without being convincing. Only when the Ukrainians’ strength dwindled in the final phase did the result increase.
