Thüringer bests Leipzig in German derby

The German champions extended their streak against Leipzig, with the tenth consecutive game without defeat, after a blistering game, that ended in a nine-goal win.

Women’s EHF Champions League Group 1
Leipzig HC (GER) vs Thüringer HC (GER) 25:34 (11:14)

Exactly one month ago, Leipzig and Thüringer shared the spoils after a well-fought draw in the German Bundesliga, topped by Herbert Müller’s side.

This time, there was no romance on Valentine’s Day between the two sides, as both were trying to bounce back from costly defeats in the last round.

But Leipzig failed in its bid to stop Thüringer’s streak of nine consecutive matches without defeat in the team’s head-to-head battle.

The German champions learnt from their mistakes in January and took an early lead, while exploiting Leipzig’s woes in defence.

While Jana Krause enjoyed outstanding spells in goal, with several consecutive saves, Nadja Nadgornaja and Katrin Engel – the guests’ best scorers, each with seven goals - were unstoppable from the nine-meter line and helped their team to a 14:11 lead at the break.

Thüringer never looked back in the second half. A high-octane game was on the menu, and Leipzig could not sustain the pace. A 6:0 run by Thuringer, associated with a flurry of misses by the hosts saw Herbert Muller’s team outrunning Leipzig by nine goals, 24:15, in the 43^rd minute.

The guests maintained their lead until the dying minutes and won comfortably, 34:25.

Both German teams are now level at six points, one point more than Vardar Skopje, who have a game in hand.