The Bundesliga handball club Thüringer HC has notched up its second win in the group stage of the European League. The team of Head Coach Herbert Müller won by a wafer-thin 28:27 (15:11) at Spanish first-division club Atticgo BM Elche in front of 612 spectators on Saturday evening.
Left winger Anna Szabo scored the winning goal for THC with 18 seconds remaining. Johanna Reichert was once again the best scorer. The Austrian international scored ten times.
A week after the furious 43:35 opening win against Larvik HK, the Thuringians found it very difficult from the outset in the south-east of Spain. The Bundesliga bronze medalists made an unusual number of mistakes in attack against the hosts' attacking defense and also had problems in defense with the dynamic backcourt players of the underdogs.
The THC trailed 7:8 after 17 minutes. Goalkeeper Christina Lövgren Hallberg then got into the game better and better and helped the visitors gain more stability with her saves. Reichert and Co. had built a four-goal lead by the break.
Hallberg holds on for the win
In the second half, the Spaniards stepped up the pace and intensity considerably and initially threw the THC completely off their stride. They turned the deficit at the break into an 18:17 lead by the 41st minute.
The favorites regained their composure after that, but the hosts also kept up their level. As a result, a thriller developed in the final spell. The Thuringians' playmaker Natsuki Aizawa got stronger and stronger. After her pass, Szabo scored to make it 28:27, while Lövgren Hallberg saved the last shot from the outstanding Kelly de Abreu Rosa at the other end to secure a fortunate victory for the THC.
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