Big exclamation mark to start: The German handball team started the European Championship in France with a surprising victory against Norway. The team of national coach Henk Groener won with 33:32 (15:16) against the record European champion and after a strong performance can go into the upcoming tasks with a lot of self-confidence.
In the Breton port city of Brest, Emily Bölk and Ina Großmann, each with five goals, were the most successful throwers of the German Handball Federation (DHB) selection, which will play Romania on Monday and the Czech Republic on Wednesday in the remaining Group D matches.
The German national team had six debutantes on their squad, but the national coach had to do without captain Kim Naidzinavicius, who is not available due to a crack in the inner and outer meniscus.
However, the absence of the 27-year-olds was hardly noticeable to the Germans. Julia Behnke scored the first goal of the match after 143 seconds, the second German goal was also scored by the substitute captain.
A quick game developed, which played into the hands of the more experienced Norwegians. After ten minutes the Scandinavians led 6:4, DHB goalkeeper Dinah Eckerle could not parry any of the first six attempts.
On the opposite side, Norwegian goalkeeper Silje Solberg made the difference with seven parades in the first round. Although the Germans took the lead again after a quarter of an hour with 8:7, a 4-0 run followed for the seven-time title winner.
However, Germany was not shaken off until the break. Behnke drove the DHB selection to the front, which had barely made any mistakes up to 15:16 halftime. The fighting spirit also enchanted the Dutchman Groener, who happily put both his thumbs up.
Even after the half-time break, the 58-year-old still had reason to rejoice. The Groener team stayed on, after 38 minutes Amelie Berger equalized (22:22). At the front, the Germans continued to act in an agile and consistent manner.
With the inclusion of goalkeeper Isabell Roch, the defensive also improved. At 27:26, the 28-year-old parried a seven-metre ball and held the lead.
In the final phase, the game remained highly exciting. The game weighed back and forth, at 32:32 Groener took the last time-out 75 seconds before the end of the game.
He probably found the right words, because with a massive throw from nine meters Youngster Bölk Germany secured the surprise success. It was Norway’s first European Championship defeat after ten wins in a row.