The Bundesliga handball club Thüringer HC went into the summer break with a defeat. The team of Head Coach Herbert Müller lost 28:29 (13:13) to DHB Cup winners TuS Metzingen in front of 1,373 spectators on Saturday evening. In the fourth home defeat of the season, Johanna Reichert was the best scorer for the THC with twelve goals, which finished third in the final standings with 39:13 points and thus qualified for the European League once again.
In the final game of the season, international Annika Lott made her comeback for the Thuringians after a two-and-a-half-month injury layoff. Nevertheless, the visitors gained a slight advantage in the first half. They repeatedly made good shots from the wing positions and prevented the THC's fast-paced play by quickly pulling back. At 8:10 (17th minute), Müller called a timeout and made changes in defense, which had an immediate positive effect. The home side still had to work hard for every goal in attack, but at least equalized by the break.
At the start of the second half, Reichert and Lott turned on the heat at the back, but unnecessary technical mistakes prevented the Thuringians from pulling away in this phase. THC's attacks became increasingly disjointed as the game progressed. Metzingen played more patiently and went 24:22 in front in the 50th minute.
Driven by the tireless Reichert, the home side equalized at 25:25 in the 53rd minute, but Metzingen kept a cool head in the final phase and ultimately deserved to win.
The THC is now facing a shake-up. With Lott, Nicole Roth, Sonja Frey, Yuki Tanabe, Sara Rönningen, Vilma Matthijs Holmberg, Johanna Stockschläder and Jennifer Rode, eight players are leaving the club in the summer.
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