Kiel (dpa) – Andreas Wolff celebrated his outstanding performance without much emotion. The strong goalkeeper soberly high-fived his teammates after the planned win against the Faroe Islands, and national handball coach Alfred Gislason smiled only a little.
“Basically, the result is not bad,” said the Icelander after the 34:26 (17:11) in the playoff first leg against the clear outsider in Kiel. But you “didn’t really get access to the defense, got too many easy goals”. The fact that there weren’t more goals was mainly due to goalkeeper Wolff’s saves in front of 5121 spectators.
Too many technical errors
Even before the second leg in Torshavn on April 16, participation in the finals in Poland and Sweden in January is almost certain, despite their poor performance. “We had problems from time to time, especially in defence, and it was difficult for us to break away,” said playmaker Luca Witzke at Sport1. “In the second half we make too many technical mistakes in defence.” There was also a problem in the exploitation of chances after the break.
Right winger Lukas Zerbe from TBV Lemgo was the best thrower when Gislason returned to Kiel with six goals. Gislason had led THW Kiel to a number of successes here for eleven years, but he still seems a long way from big titles with the DHB selection. Again and again the favorite made technical mistakes. “We scored 34 goals in the end, that’s a bit too few,” said youngster Juri Knorr. “We should have put the skills we have on the record better.”
Goalkeeper Wolff: wide awake from the start
The own ball losses invited the outsider again and again to quick counterattacks. The fact that the Faroe Islands didn’t tighten the game in the first half was mainly due to Wolff. Unlike some of his teammates, the ex-keeper of THW Kiel was wide awake from the start and shone with a few saves. In the second round, too, the spectators celebrated the professional from the Polish club Vive Kielce with ovations.
However, the 31-year-old did not always get support from the defense in front of him. And it was precisely for these two reasons that Gislason’s team struggled: too high a mistake rate and too large gaps in the defensive. The fact that the lead at half-time was still relatively comfortable was mainly due to the fact that the strength of the guests decreased more and more as the game went on.
“A six-goal lead at half-time is certainly something we would have signed before,” said DHB sports director Axel Kromer at half-time at Sport1. But: “Our defense was not good, so we can be grateful that Andreas Wolff held so well.”
The German team did not find a confident game rhythm even after the break. Some shaky candidates could not be recommended for the World Cup in Poland and Sweden in January, and the center of defense around captain Johannes Golla and Simon Ernst presented itself in Kiel as anything but ready for a tournament. After all, the hoped-for World Cup ticket is very close before the second leg. For larger goals, however, the DHB selection must increase.