In the third preliminary round game of the home World Cup, the German handball women secured a clear success and traveled to the main round in Dortmund without losing any points. The clear 31:20 (17:10) win against Serbia was never in danger, also thanks to the strong performance of captain Antje Döll.
A concentrated performance from the German handball players right from the start paved the way for their third victory in the third preliminary round game. Left winger Döll was the DHB team’s most successful goalscorer with eight goals from ten attempts and was voted player of the game after the final whistle. National coach Markus Gaugisch found his team “great in many areas”: “A lot of things went the way we wanted them to.” Against Serbia it was about the important group win and points for the main round, which begins on Tuesday in Dortmund.
DHB team in the main round against the Faroe Islands, Montenegro and Spain
In the Westfalenhalle, the Gaugisch team will meet the Faroe Islands (December 2nd), Montenegro (December 4th) and Spain (December 6th) with the maximum points total of four points. Jolina Huhnstock is no longer there. The pivot had to leave due to an arm injury, but Marie Steffen has been added to the World Cup squad and will join the team on Monday. The national coach looks forward to the tasks: “The whole team is greedy and can handle anything so far. So I’m very positive.”
After nine minutes, Serbian coach Jose Ignacio Prades had to take his first timeout. The German team was able to pull away to 6:2, also thanks to captain Döll’s four goals. However, the time-out didn’t help the Serbians, they repeatedly misused the balls offensively and the DHB team countered mercilessly. Viola Leuchter crowned a 7-1 run for the Germans (10-3/13th) with her first goal.
Germany starts the game with a 7-1 run
The Serbian pivot Dragana Cvijic had been completely ignored by the German defense up to this point and was becoming increasingly frustrated. After a bad decision by the referee, Emily Vogel’s teammate complained loudly and had to sit on the bench with a double two-minute penalty. As a result, the lead in the 20th minute was eight goals for the first time (14:6). And the Serbs continued to weaken.
Nieke Kühne prevailed strongly in one-on-one situations and was only stopped illegally by Jovana Skrobic. According to the pictures, the referees showed the red card – a very tough decision. Meanwhile, Döll continued to score at will – seven shots, seven goals. Katharina Filter was able to excel in defense for the second time and provided additional security (16:6/23.). With the halftime siren, Serbia reduced the lead to 10:17.
DHB women with a strong start to the second half
After the break, the national coach went back to his usual seven, with Alexia Hauf taking over for the accurate Döll at the left wing position. The start was also similar to the first half, Serbia remained without a goal for the first six minutes and Germany was able to increase the lead to 20:10 through Annika Lott. A comeback by the Serbians was never a real danger; the German team played too calmly for that.
Almost all players were able to get on the scorers list during the game. After pivot Lisa Antl scored her first goal of the game (40th), defense chief Aimee von Pereira crowned her strong defensive performance with the first World Cup goal of her career (42nd). Despite the large lead, the German team did not let up and continued to keep the Serbians at bay. Hauf set the German final point before Dunja Radevic made the final score 31:20.