The German handball players escaped with a black eye against the surprise team from Austria in the second European Championship main round game. However, the 22:22 (11:12) draw achieved in the last minute felt more like a defeat. The German team showed a very weak performance, especially in attack.
The semi-finals are now further away for the Germans, but Austria has the best chance of making it to the last four at this European Championship. The Germans now need two wins from two games and are dependent on help from other games.
For the first time in Cologne we didn’t win an international match
Germany went into this game as big favorites and had the support of almost 20,000 fans – it wasn’t quite enough. The DHB handball players had so far won all international matches in their “living room”, the arena in Cologne, which was sold out again. It was the first point loss in a competitive game against the Austrians, who have been second-rate in handball for many years. The Austrians, however, celebrated the point win like a victory.
“We are all a bit shocked,” said ARD expert Johannes Bitter immediately after the final whistle.
Gislason: “That was cruel”
The main point of criticism was the Germans’ lethargic offensive game. “We lost the point in attack,” said national coach Alfred Gislason, “23 missed throws, eleven technical errors – that was cruel.”
Things could have been worse. A comeback in the last minute still brought us the point. “In the last ten minutes we tried to turn things around. It wasn’t quite enough,” said captain Johannes Golla. “Overall it was incredibly bad. A performance like that takes us away from our goals.”
Knorr initially on the bench
Alfred Gislason decided to make a personnel change in his starting line-up. The Icelander initially left his playmaker and top goalscorer Juri Knorr out, also because he wasn’t fully fit.
But nothing had changed in the initial situation. The pressure was on the Germans, who wanted to keep their dream of reaching the semi-finals alive. But the DHB team couldn’t cope with this pressure situation at all.
Weber doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity, Wolff is strong again
The introduction of Philipp Weber for Juri Knorr brought no profit. The backcourt player from SC Magdeburg had three or four unfortunate situations right from the start and he didn’t manage to score a goal. Gislason changed his tactics in the 12th minute and brought on Knorr.
At this point the team already seemed totally unsettled and, especially in attack, all the good spirits had been abandoned. Nothing worked on offense, lots of technical errors, weak passes and shots on goal that didn’t actually deserve this name. Germany played a terrible first half.
Heiner Brand disappointed at the break
Only one man could be relied on again: goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, who, like two days before, kept his team in the game in the same position and didn’t let the Austrians get away. “We have to be very happy that we are only one goal behind at the break,” said former national coach Heiner Brand on ARD after the first 30 minutes, in which the Germans at least turned from a three-goal deficit to one shortly before the half-time bell We were able to shorten the goal (11:12).
Brand, the 2007 world champion coach, particularly criticized the static attacking play of the DHB seven. “You have to prepare the attacks calmly, so everyone comes off the bat. That doesn’t work,” said the Gummersbacher.
Attacking play remained miserable
Would the Germans be able to correct their mistakes in the second half? At least they came out of the break a little more accurate. The problem: the Austrians also completed their attacks better. Because Knorr, Köster and Co. continued to make mistakes, Team Austria pulled away to within three goals – 18:15 (42nd).
Gislason tried to adjust, rotated on offense and took the next timeout. “Hey, we can do it, in peace, in peace,” the players encouraged each other during the team-out. After 48 minutes it looked as if Austria would secure the victory, leading 21:16. But the Germans fought, Austria suddenly made mistakes and had bad luck at the post.
Steinert with the equalizer
Austria didn’t score a goal in the last ten and a half minutes, Germany equalized shortly before the end through Christoph Steinert. Although Austria was significantly closer to victory and “only” got a draw, the players celebrated wildly on the pitch in Cologne.