The handball players of Thüringer HC lived up to their role as favorites at the start of the new Bundesliga season. The newly formed team of Head Coach Herbert Müller clearly won 28:17 (11:10) at TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen thanks to a considerable improvement in performance in the second half. The best scorer was left winger Rikke Hoffbeck, one of eight new players at THC. The Norwegian scored six goals.
The Thuringians made a sluggish start to the game and initially made a disastrous impression in offense. They only managed four goals in the first 16 minutes. The Leverkusen side effectively prevented the THC from playing at pace and were also able to rely on their brilliant goalkeeper Lieke van der Linden. However, the young hosts lacked the penetrating power in offense to punish THC's weaknesses even more consistently.
It gets better in the second half
In the final phase of the first half, the visitors got into the game better and now scored more often through right winger Nathalie Hendrikse, which gave them a narrow lead at the break.
The Thuringians then unleashed their potential in the second half. They switched gears at lightning speed after winning possession and exploited their chances consistently. With a 7:0 run to make it 18:10 (39 minutes), they ensured a preliminary decision.
The club from Leverkusen overcame its goal crisis in the ensuing period, but still found no means to counter the THC in defense and extended its lead to 27:16 (53'). In the final minutes, their concentration in finishing dropped significantly.
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