Match Report
Women's handballers beat Ikast in the European League
The scenario: Ikast claimed a very narrow 29-25 win over Borussia in the reverse fixture in Denmark. As Ramnicu Valcea had already beaten Sola HK on Saturday afternoon, the Borussia ladies knew they would definitely be eliminated if they lost to Ikast. A win, meanwhile, would put the Dortmund ladies back in the thick of the race for a place in the quarter-finals.
Personnel matters: New signing Lois Abbingh was not yet eligible to play. Carmen Campos and Tess Lieder were still working towards their comeback and were not yet available. Lena Hausherr was absent due to a cruciate ligament rupture.
The match & analysis: The spectators at the Westpress-Arena witnessed an opening phase with many technical errors on both sides. Borussia settled into a strong momentum and took a 5-2 lead when Emma Olsson rounded off a high-tempo counter on the eight-minute mark. The visitors from Ikast subsequently handed out plenty of gifts, which the Black & Yellows could only exploit a few of. Sarah Wachter was almost unbeatable between the sticks and saved an incredible 50% of the shots she faced in the first half. Defensively, it was the perfect start to this important clash – but the missed chances dampened the mood somewhat.
With the score at 8-5, Henk Groener called a timeout to draw his team's attention to the gaps at the back in the Danish side's rearguard. But his team resumed after that break in the worst-possible manner. The visitors, who had been deemed to be the strongest opponent in the group beforehand, reduced the deficit to one goal. Sarah Wachter once again shone and repeatedly saved attempts from the Ikast backcourt area to ensure that the home team went in at the half-time break with a 12-10 lead.
Ikast quickly restored parity after the break and it was an open exchange from that point onwards. Both clubs continued to make technical errors. In the 41st minute of the match, Haruno Sasaki won the ball back and threw it into the visiting team's empty net as she fell to the ground – the score was now 18-15. From this point onwards at the latest, it became apparent to every Black & Yellow supporter at the Westpress-Arena that they could come away from this game with something tangible.
Not every attack from the Black & Yellows was successful but Henk Groener's team gave it everything and fought for every centimetre. With the score 24-23 and eight minutes left, the all-important home win came under threat as the team began to concede goals too quickly. But the visitors also established hardly any control defensively and were met with a response from the Borussia ladies every time. The crowd was already celebrating Borussia's win in the closing seconds. The 29-25 defeat in the reverse fixture means that they would have needed a win by five goals to come above Ikast if they finish level on points. BVB missed that chance but they still have every chance of progressing thanks to the victory.
Reactions: Lena Degenhardt: "We had set our sights high. That was a good team performance. Our defence was very solid and Sarah was outstanding in goal. We unfortunately spurned too many chances but we didn't let our heads drop even in our poor spells. We were aware of the pressure and the win does us an unbelievable amount of good. That's how we need to perform in Valcea too."
Henk Groener: "I was very pleased that we were fully alert from the beginning. Sarah put in a top performance in goal. The team showed what they're capable of today and I'm very pleased with the way they fought with their hearts and souls."
Outlook: The league campaign will already be back under way on Wednesday (12/02) when they host TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen (19:30 CET). That will be followed by the next decisive match in the race for European League qualification in Valcea, Romania next Saturday.
There will then be plenty of excitement in store when they face Sola HK on the last matchday of the group stage: the European League match will take place on February 22 (15:00 CET) at the Westfalenhalle, where Borussia previously played their final group game of the 22/23 season in front of 11,112 spectators. Tickets for the match are already on sale.
Women's handball team: Wachter, Kothen; Kusian, Antl (3), Degenhardt (2), van Maurik (1), Langer (5), Lassource, Sasaki (5/1), Husebø (1), Olsson (3), Vollebregt (4), Egeling, Bleckmann (6)