Enlarge image
Player of the game against Belarus: Kai Häfner
Photo: VLADIMIR SIMICEK / AFP
Scene of the game:
First the ball hit the right post, then the left goal post and finally it rolled just a few centimeters over the line into the goal. This curious hit by the German handball player Kai Häfner in the 38th minute to 23:20 was by no means the decision against Belarus. But he showed what you sometimes need in a difficult opening game of the European Championship with a team that is not well-rehearsed: a bit of luck. From that moment, from the Häfner hit, from the time of the first comfortable lead against Belarus, the DHB selection became safer.
Result of the game:
33:29 was the final score.
The DHB selection with its many new faces in the squad can look forward to the first two points and can therefore go into the next duels against Austria (Sunday) and Poland (Tuesday, both at 6 p.m.) with relative ease.
Read the match report on the win against Belarus here.
Why so many new faces?
Uwe Gensheimer and Steffen Weinhold have ended their DHB careers, the regulars Hendrik Pekeler and Fabian Wiede are doing without the EM, the unvaccinated Juri Knorr is not eligible to play at the 2G event, and there are a few injured – this has led to the national coach Alfred Gíslason competes at the European Championships with eight tournament debutants.
Every shot a goal
: We had gotten used to Johannes Bitter, Silvio Heinevetter and Andreas Wolff – one of them was in the German goal in the recent past. That much was certain. But the EM will be the beginning of a new era for the DHB selection, and so it fits into the picture that Gíslason put Till Klimpke from HSG Wetzlar between the posts at the beginning. The 23-year-old has been showing consistent performances in the Bundesliga for years, but there was nothing to be seen in Bratislava at first: the first seven shots on his goal were all in. However, it was also a thankless job for the young Klimpke to have to take over the start behind an uncoordinated defense.
Alarm!
Then, after ten minutes had been played, the siren sounded: Time out, Germany. At this point it was 2:7, the German defense wasn't aggressive enough, the running work in attack was miserable, no ball found its way to pivot Johannes Golla. "Everything is possible," said Timo Kastening before the European Championships, meaning an early exit after the preliminary round. Gíslason decided to take immediate action during the time-out and took the helpless goalkeeper Klimpke off the field for Wolff.
Reingeruckelt:
The DHB selection seemed to have stalled the engine at the start, then gradually got rolling. In the 21st minute, the new captain Golla managed to equalize for the first time since the start of the game, seconds later Kastening scored the first lead to 11:10. The fast right wing raised a jubilant fist in the direction of the substitutes' bench, where Klimpke, among others, who seemed completely distraught after being substituted earlier, also celebrated. The start of a run? Not really. Belarus went into the break with an 18:17 lead.
Belarusian target water:
Belarus made 20 throws in the first 30 minutes, 18 of them were in. Mikita Vailupau in particular stood out against the German defense team, six goals scored the right winger in the first round. The 26-year-old plays in the Champions League with Brest HC Meschkow, while a few others from the Belarusian team are also represented in the premier class of handball. It was therefore not surprising that the German opponents rebelled with their strong individual players. From the second half, however, they built up.
Special praise:
Gíslason is not exactly prone to outbursts of emotion during his time-outs, which is why the two words he uttered towards the end of the game were particularly striking: "Outstanding, Kai," the Icelander could almost be heard yelling over the TV microphones. It was the backcourt from Melsungen who was mainly responsible for the successful start of the European Championship with his many successful distance throws - he scored eight goals, as did Marcel Schiller. "Kai Häfner, you're the best man," sang a smaller group among the 1,200 fans in the Bratislava hall, which was only allowed to be used to 25 percent capacity due to corona measures. Finally, Häfner was awarded player of the game.
Takeaway of the game:
Only those who have a top keeper can go far in a finals.
A big question mark has to be placed behind the form of debutant Klimpke (zero saves) and Wolff, the 2016 European Championship winner (six saves from 26 throws).
To save their honour, however, it should be mentioned that the front men in the defensive group against Austria also have to improve significantly - not so easy without the defensive top strength Pekeler.
But whether goalkeeper or defender, they all had a savior today in the strong Kai Häfner.