The German women’s hockey team had a convincing opening win against Scotland at the home European Championship.
The selection of the German Hockey Association (DHB) won the opening game in the Mönchengladbach Hockey Park 4-0 against Scotland on Friday evening (18.08.2023) and took the lead in Group B.
Coach Valentin Altenburg’s team underlined their title ambitions with a convincing win and are already playing for group victory in their second game against England on Sunday. The English won the opening game of the second European Championship in Mönchengladbach after 2011 3-0 against Ireland.
Lightning start for the DHB team – Zimmermann hits after 23 seconds
The Vice European Champion of 2021 got off to a great start. National coach Altenburg had also worked with his team on better exploitation of chances during the pre-season and saw himself rewarded for the intensive work.
After the first penalty corner, Sonja Zimmermann from HC Bloemendaal scored the first chance of the game after just 23 seconds to make it 1-0. The goal to make it 2-0 by Lisa Nolte from Düsseldorf (12th minute) gave the German game security.
The defense was also good, with a reliable Julia Sonntag in goal, and with the few opportunities the Scots had, they didn’t pose any threats. Zimmermann scored her second goal of the tournament just before half-time, leading her team to an unchallenged victory. In the end, the hosts still had good chances and scored a deserved 4-0 win through Charlotte Stapenhorst (53′).