26.01.2020, 04:00
THC through after beating Debrecen again

GROUP A REVIEW: The second straight victory against DVSC Debrecen helped Thuringer HC to secure their quarter-final spot.

THC through after beating Debrecen again

Last week, Thuringer HC had comfortably beaten DVSC Schaeffler away in Debrecen, 26:19. At home, the Hungarian team were close to taking revenge, but a late comeback allowed THC to snatch a 26:23 win and reach the Women’s EHF Cup quarter-final.

• THC keep a perfect record in the competition, four wins in as many matches
• Debrecen stay on four points after second straight defeat
• Beate Scheffknecht was Thuringer’s top scorer with nine goals; Anita Bulath scored seven goals for DVSC
• DVSC will host Kastamonu, while THC will receive Most next week

Group A

Thuringer HC (GER) vs DVSC Schaeffler (HUN) 26:23 (15:13)

With eight minutes to go, Debrecen led 23:21 and hoped to clinch a victory, yet the home side were unable to score in the remaining time.

THC’s defence and Ann-Cathrin Giegerich in goal worked very well, which helped the home side to make a comeback and win by three goals. DVSC and Kastamonu still can go level with Thuringer in the table – but not both of them as they will face each other in the next round.

Just like in the previous encounter, Thuringer had to do without their best scorer Iveta Koresova, who still suffers from a shoulder injury. However, Beate Scheffknecht again took the leading role, finishing the game with nine goals, seven of which were scored in the first half.

Debrecen enjoyed a better start of the match and led 9:6 by the 13th minute, with Anna Kovacs having a special impact in attack. However, THC improved their defence, and a string of Scheffknecht’s goals helped the German side to take a two-goal lead at half-time.

The second half saw a back-and-forth game, where both sides took turns in assuming the lead. However, the German side had the upper hand in the crucial phase of the match and enjoyed their fourth consecutive win.

THC Coach Herbert Müller said: "Both teams showed a Champions League level game today. It was a fast pace and Debrecen put up a great defense in the first 30 minutes. It was only in the last quarter of an hour that we were more powerful and did not allow a goal in the last eight minutes. So we deservedly won."

TEXT: Sergey Nikolaev / tj