Never before had the German women achieved such a clear success in qualifying for the European Championship. The win allows 48-year-old Gaugisch to plan for November’s tournament in Slovenia, Montenegro and North Macedonia.
The best German thrower in front of 50 spectators in Almere were Johanna Stockschläder with six and Alina Grijseels with five goals. The game took place in the Netherlands after Belarus were suspended from qualifying group 3 by the European federation EHF. Germany, Greece and the Netherlands then agreed to play the remaining qualifiers in Almere. The Greeks waived their right to domicile.
Greek women hopelessly overwhelmed
But they probably wouldn’t have had a chance at home either. Technically, tactically, physically – the DHB selection was superior in all respects to the weakened opponent. One of the things Gaugisch wanted to see on his debut was a confident defensive performance from his team. In the early minutes there was still a problem here. But when the Greeks had chances, the strong goalkeeper Isabell Roch fended off the throws.
The longer the game lasted, the more the outsider lost his physical condition. Germany had already easily won the first leg last October by 36:10. Even now, captain Alina Grijseels, Xenia Smits and Antje Lauenroth used almost every available gap. And the gaps kept getting bigger.
Next Saturday friendly against the Netherlands
Gaugisch knew beforehand that the game would not be an indicator of his own strength. Accordingly, he acted calmly during his first assignment as a national coach on the sidelines and during the time-outs. What the DHB selection is really capable of should only be seen on April 23 (4 p.m.). Then there is a friendly in Almere against the Netherlands. After all, the Oranje team is fifth in the Olympics and won both qualifying games against Germany.
Source: dpa/red