Enlarge image
Timo Kastening (nine goals) was the most successful thrower against Austria
Photo: Marijan Murat / dpa
Scene of the game:
In handball, things sometimes go so fast that you can only remember the throw to the goal. The passport before? Already forgotten. But the pass that came from German international Philipp Weber in the 47th minute couldn't be forgotten. The Austrian opponents pushed him, Weber fell and was almost on the ground when the ball left his hand and he flew from left to right to Timo Kastening, who converted to 26:23. It was one of the many beautiful goals scored by the German team that evening.
Result:
The handball players win 34:29 in their second European Championship game against Austria. There were shadows, but more light in this second EM success. Should the Poles win against Belarus in the evening (8.30 p.m.), they and Germany would be in the main round. Read the game report on the DHB success here.
The shock:
On Saturday evening, the DHB with manager Julius Kühn (six goals against Belarus) reported his first corona case at this European Championship. At first there were no signs of further infections within the team. All other PCR and rapid tests for the rest of the DHB delegation were then negative. So far, Kühn, who has already received a vaccination booster, has not shown any symptoms. Also, his positive test is not synonymous with the EM-Aus: With two negative PCR test results, he could end his isolation after five days.
Finally arrived:
Perhaps national coach Alfred Gíslason wanted to give his young goalkeeper Till Klimpke a second chance (and self-confidence) after his zero saves against Belarus. Perhaps it was the Icelander's stubbornness that made him stick to his idea and nominate 23-year-old Klimpke again as number one (and not veteran Andreas Wolff) at the start of the game. At least the national coach didn't get into any arguments afterwards - Klimpke put in a strong performance (14 saves in total). "I'm overwhelmed," Klimpke said after his appearance on ARD.
With speed to the goal:
The Germans got off to a bad start and, like against Belarus, lacked speed in attack. But then, after 6:08 minutes, things happened quickly - and then the time had come: Sebastian Heymann ended Germany's goallessness and reduced the deficit to 1:3. With his seamless throw from the back (speed: 125 km/h), the 23-year-old from Göppingen showed why he is considered one of the top talents in German handball. Shooter Heymann also scored the last goal in the first round – at 15:16.
The old man:
The Austrians earned their half-time lead thanks to an outstanding keeper. Golub Doknić, nine saves in the first half and one assist, is 39 years old and the keeper celebrated his fifth international appearance against Germany. Born in Montenegrin, he was trained at the top club Vardar Skopje two decades ago and was naturalized in Austria in 2021 in order to solve the national goalkeeper problem shortly before his handball pension. One can say: it succeeded.
The joker
: Lukas Mertens could have been one of the most exciting German handball players for a long time if the many injuries in the past hadn't thrown him back. But now, at the age of 25, Mertens is playing his first final round – and he showed his entertaining qualities against Austria. Kempa tricks, flying interludes, sprints, when he spectacularly sunk the ball to 13:13 in the meantime, ARD expert Dominik Klein called "boom" into his microphone. In any case, it is not surprising that Uwe Gensheimer's successor in the DHB selection is a regular at the German handball leader Magdeburg.
Late bloomer:
In the second half, Mertens and Co. converted almost 80 percent of their throws - an outstanding rate. But the really big tension was only released in the last third of the game, only now did the DHB selection move away. Austria is far from playing a more important role in handball - but the team held up well against Germany for a long time.
The speedster:
Kastening was partly responsible for the fact that the DHB selection was able to celebrate their second (and also clear) victory in the end. The lightning-fast right winger, who was one of the strongest Germans in previous tournaments, scored nine goals. With him on the right and Mertens on the left, the DHB selection seems to have a pair of wings that can pose problems for many opponents. In order for the fast wingers to be able to stage themselves, however, the German defense must increase and feed Mertens and Kastening with more ball wins.
Outlook:
The DHB selection went into this tournament with many debutants and now newcomers like Klimpke, Mertens or Heymann were able to show that they deserve their place in the team.
"A lot of positive things," national coach Gíslason saw.
On Tuesday against Poland, the strongest preliminary round opponent, the German handball players can take the next step in their development process.
The team still has a lot of work to do, but the start was good.