Women's handball side seal quarter-final spot in the DHB-Pokal | OneFootball

Squad

Head coach Kay Rothenpieler had to compensate for several absences in the cup match against SV Union Halle-Neustadt. Left winger Ona Vegué twisted her foot in training and had to sit out against Halle. Emma Olsson (thigh), Lena Hausherr (knee), and Pam Korsten (knee) were also unavailable. In return, youth player Nora Lueg moved up into the squad.

Match summary

The fans at Halle Wellinghofen were eager to see how BVB would approach the second game against SV Union Halle-Neustadt in just two weeks. In the previous 33:24 win, a strong finish to the first half had been enough to clearly pull away from the team from Saxony-Anhalt, who had gone scoreless for more than 16 minutes. And that was exactly what BVB seemed determined to build on. It started with a penalty by Mareike Thomaier, followed by a goal from goalkeeper Sarah Wachter into Halle’s empty net. Then came 3:0 and 4:0, again through Mareike Thomaier. After five minutes, Halle coach Pether Krautmeyer was forced to take an early timeout. Two minutes later, Tina Wagenlader finally got the visitors on the board with the goal for 1:5.

The visitors’ high number of technical errors was ruthlessly punished by the Black & Yellows, with Nestaker, Thomaier, and Quist in the backcourt making the most of fast-break opportunities. After ten minutes, the score was already 8:2. Although BVB initially showed some weaknesses in connecting with the line player and Halle cut the gap to 8:12 (17th minute), the Black & Yellows never looked in danger. By the 25th minute, BVB — now with van Maurik and Bleckmann replacing Nestaker and Quist in the backcourt — led 15:10. That was certainly also thanks to goalkeeper Sarah Wachter, who had made ten saves by that point, as well as Mareike Thomaier, who had already scored seven goals.

In the final five minutes of the first half, Alina Grijseels — who had been ill during the international break — also took to the court. With clever passes to Lisa Antl on the line and to Alieke van Maurik in the backcourt, the captain underlined her important role. BVB went into the locker room with a 19:12 lead.

Nicole Wiggins was in goal for the second half. BVB quickly made things clear. Grijseels, Vollebregt, Bleckmann, Mladenovska, and Egeling all scored with seemingly no resistance. After just five minutes, BVB held a ten-goal lead (24:14). The round of 16 was all but decided. But the Borussia women did not let up in their efforts. Captain Grijseels kept up the pressure, distributing the ball cleverly to Dana Bleckmann in the backcourt and pivot Lisa Antl. Halle was staring at a rout, with BVB leading 33:20 after 45 minutes.

Borussia coach Kay Rothenpieler used the opportunity to rotate, bringing on youth player Nora Lueg at right wing. And BVB took full advantage of the chance for quick goals. Alina Grijseels scored into the visitors’ empty net four times in a row. Felina Menne had the honor of scoring goal number 40 for the first time this season to make it 40:28 (53rd minute). In the end, BVB won the cup round-of-16 match 43:30 (19:12).

Reaction

Alina Grijseels: “That was a good restart after the international break. We wanted to put them under pressure from the start and knock the wind out of Halle’s sails right away. We did that well with the quick 5:0 lead. It was important that this time we defended the opponents’ 7-on-6 advantage play well. After the break, we managed our energy well, which was certainly very important considering the tasks ahead. Of course I’m happy with my eight goals. But that’s not what matters to me.”

Outlook

BVB’s next game in the Alsco Handball Bundesliga Frauen is the home match against Buxtehuder SV on October 7 (7:30 p.m., live on sporteurope.tv and Dyn). Before that, however, BVB will travel to Norway. On Sunday, October 4, the fourth group match of the EHF Champions League against Sola HK is scheduled for 2 p.m. (live on Dyn).

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