The Bundesliga handball players of Thüringer HC have missed out on a place in the final of the DHB Cup. The team of Head Coach Herbert Müller lost 21:25 (12:13) to defending champions SG BBM Bietigheim in the semi-finals of the Final4 in Stuttgart on Saturday evening despite a sacrificial fighting performance. In front of 2356 spectators, Annika Lott and Johanna Reichert were THC's best scorers with five goals each. Antje Döll scored ten times for Bietigheim. The Thuringians will face VfL Oldenburg, who lost the first semi-final against TuS Metzingen 30:31 (26:26, 14:16) on seven penalties, in the match for third place on Sunday (2:00 p.m.).
The second semi-final got off to a fast start. Up to 5:5 (7th minute), the two teams traded blows at a high level. However, the pace slowed down considerably after that. The club from Thuringia played out its attacks for a long time, but hardly found a way through against Bietigheim's inner block and also failed to score from two seven-meter penalties thanks to the strong goalkeeper Gabriela Moreschi.
The THC did not score for ten minutes, but because it was also very solid in defense, Bietigheim was only able to pull 8:5 (17') ahead in this spell. They maintained a three-goal lead up to 13:10 (28'), before the club from Thuringia stalked back into contention by the break.
In the second half, THC also managed to stop Bietigheim's fast-paced play with its agile defense. In the 46th minute, center Josefine Hanfland rounded off a strong spell for Thuringia to tie the scores at 18:18.
However, the Thuringians noticeably ran out of steam in the final spell. With unprepared shots and careless turnovers, they facilitated a 4:0 run by Bietigheim to make it 22:18 in the 56th minute. Although THC fought its way back to 20:22 (57') with two quick goals, Bietigheim's victory was no longer in danger.
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