BVB handball women narrowly beaten after Super Cup thriller | OneFootball

Squad

Head coach Kay Rothenpieler was able to field an almost full-strength lineup for the Super Cup in Munich. Only long-term absentees Pam Korsten and Lena Hausherr, as well as Alicia Langer (pregnant), were missing.

Match Progress

Just under three months after the third playoff final in Blomberg, the NRW clash was replayed in Munich, this time in the Super Cup in front of an impressive crowd of 12,000 fans. BVB head coach Kay Rothenpieler went with his starting lineup of Wachter, Bleckmann, Grijseels, van Maurik, Vollebregt, Olsson (in defense), Antl (in attack), and Ona Vegue.

The match got off to a disappointing start for BVB. In the opening 15 minutes, Borussia managed just a single goal. Reason enough for Borussia coach Kay Rothenpieler to call his first timeout. What he demanded was fairly clear: more pace, more movement, more heart. He also made a quadruple substitution, bringing on Freriks, Nestaker, Quist, and Thomaier. Even so, things still did not click, and there were huge gaps in defense.

It was a good thing goalkeeper Sarah Wachter was in brilliant form. With five saves, she prevented the deficit from growing larger. And slowly BVB began to get into the game. After 24 minutes, BVB had turned the match around for the first time, with Merel Freriks making it 6:5 for the Black and Yellows, before HSG moved back in front at 9:7 from BVB’s perspective. In the closing phase of the first half, Dana Bleckmann and Lara Egeling leveled it at 9:9 right on the halftime buzzer.

After the break, BVB looked clearly improved. In defense, Borussia pressed higher at the nine-meter line. After 45 minutes, the score was 14:14. Seven minutes before the final whistle, BVB went two goals ahead for the first time in the match after Guro Nestaker and the impressive Lara Egeling found the net. But it was not enough. After two passing errors, Blomberg drew level again, and with 60 seconds left, Nieke Kühne made it 22:21. But BVB found an equalizer once more. U20 world champion Lara Egeling kept her nerve and scored to make it 22:22 with three seconds remaining.

For the first time, the match went straight to a penalty shootout—without extra time. That was where the decision went against BVB. Dana Bleckmann and Alina Grijseels converted, while Guro Nestaker and Ona Vegué missed. After a true handball thriller, Blomberg won the Super Cup 26:24 on penalties.

Reaction

Head coach Kay Rothenpieler: “It came down to our attacking performance. Sarah Wachter did well in goal. But up front we made too many simple mistakes. Anything can happen in a penalty shootout. I can only explain the poor start with nerves. We played without courage, missed open chances, and only passed sideways. In the second half we played with more courage, defended well, and went two goals ahead. And then we carelessly threw that lead away with two technical errors. We brought Blomberg back into the game. The opponent was emotionally superior to us. We’re not that far along yet; the patterns of play still aren’t right.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.