Olympic Preliminary Round - Denmark too strong: Handball players tremble for quarterfinals
The German women's handball team narrowly missed a surprise against medal contender Denmark and must continue to fight for a place in the quarter-finals at the Olympic Games. Coach Markus Gaugisch's team lost 27:28 (12:15) after a tough battle and now has 2:6 points before the final group game against European champions Norway on Saturday.
To advance directly to the knockout phase in their first Olympic appearance since 2008 in Beijing, the DHB team must finish at least fourth. As fourth, they would likely face top favorite France in the round of the last eight. The DHB women suffered their third Olympic setback in their fourth game, following defeats against South Korea and Sweden, and only winning against Slovenia. In front of around 5,700 spectators, right wing Jenny Behrend was the top German scorer with six goals.
Lack of ideas in attack
Gaugisch had urged his players to surpass the performance from the Slovenia game. "If we want to be good, we have to beat a big one. We haven't done that yet," said the 50-year-old. And the DHB women started well. Especially in defense, the sixth-placed team was alert and stole many balls from the Danes. The 9:7 lead after more than 15 minutes was deserved.
However, the German handballers then had increasing difficulty finding gaps in the opposing defense. Their attacking play seemed devoid of ideas, lacking power from the backcourt. Additionally, DHB goalkeeper Katharina Filter initially couldn't save many shots from the Danes. With a 4:0 run, the favorites turned the game. The substitution of goalkeeper Sarah Wachter had no effect.
Lead thanks to Filter and Behrend
The Danes were far from their best. The DHB team played too inaccurately in attack and didn't use their many chances. But Filter now saved chance after chance, allowing outside player Jenny Behrend to take the lead (20:19).
The upset victory seemed within reach at this point. However, the DHB team squandered their lead through too many fouls. In inferior numbers, Emily Bölk and co. saw the opponents pull away to a four-goal lead (21:25). The favorites didn't relinquish their lead, even though the DHB team never gave up and had a chance to equalize through Behrend just before the end. However, they were denied by the Danish goalkeeper.
The DHB women faced South Korea in their previous Olympic game and suffered a defeat, marking their second setback in the tournament. Despite a strong start against Denmark, South Korea's defensive tactics and lack of scoring opportunities in the backcourt ultimately led to another loss for the German team.
