Thüringer HC squeezes into the quarter-finals

The Bundesliga women's handball team of Thüringer HC has secured progression in the European League with great difficulty. The team of Head Coach Herbert Müller narrowly defeated the Spanish outsiders Atticgo BM Elche 27:26 (13:15) in the final group game in front of 1,050 spectators to secure second place in Group A. Csenge Kuczora was the match winner, scoring eight of her ten goals after the break and also converting the decisive seven-meter penalty eleven seconds before the end. In the quarter-finals (March 22/23 and March 29/30), THC will face Romanian top club Ramnicu Valcea in a return leg.

The club from Thuringia initially failed to get a grip on the fast Spaniards in defense and fell 4:8 behind in the 11th minute. After a timeout by Müller, the home side stepped up its intensity in defense, but made numerous technical mistakes in attack and missed three seven-meter penalties. It was only in the final phase of the first half that the THC gradually got a grip on the game and reduced the gap to two goals.

After the break, the Thuringians lost their rhythm in offense again. Elche now also became increasingly error-prone. As a result, a battle developed in which the Spaniards were able to maintain a narrow lead for a long time. However, when the THC then produced a 5:0 run to turn a 19:22 deficit (47') into a 24:22 lead (54'), everything pointed to a win for the favorites. However, Elche fought its way back into the game and equalized with 43 seconds remaining, before Kuczora gave the home side a chance to celebrate.