The women's handball club Thüringer HC has preserved its chances of reaching the playoff final in the German league. The team of Head Coach Herbert Müller prevailed 36:31 (17:14) in the second semi-final game against HB Ludwigsburg in front of an impressive home crowd and forced a deciding game in the best-of-three series on Sunday (4 p.m.) in Ludwigsburg.
The best scorer for THC, which had lost the first encounter with the reigning German champions by a clear 23:37, was once again Johanna Reichert with eleven goals. Mareike Thomaier scored eight times for Ludwigsburg.
In front of 1160 spectators, the Thuringians started the game with a lot of energy and led 5:3 after six minutes. However, in an effort to keep up the pace, they subsequently made more technical mistakes and conceded four goals in succession.
The THC did not let this brief period of weakness bother them, however, and impressed with a high level of commitment and variable attacking play. The hosts had built a deserved three-goal lead by the break.
Red card for THC defensive boss Niederwieser
The THC were also more determined at the start of the second half and did not let a red card for defensive boss Anika Niederwieser (37th minute) get in their way. However, Ludwigsburg recovered, improved significantly in attack and reduced the deficit to 26:28 (53') through the strong Veronika Malá. However, the game did not turn because Reichert took responsibility for the THC. With her eleventh goal to make it 33:29 (57'), the Austrian ensured a preliminary decision and turned the Salza-Halle into a madhouse.
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