The German Women play confidently into the Semi-Finals
22nd August, GANT EHC, Mönchengladbach Germany - Belgium 4:0 (1:0)
23.08.2011 - With a clear 4:0 (1:0) win over Belgium, the German women’s team confirmed their participation in the semi-finals of the GANT EuroHockey Championships in Mönchengladbach. The German team seemed to have improved their game considerably since their match against England. Their fast attacking combinations and solid defensive performance were impressive. Maike Stöckel, Janine Beermann, Eileen Hoffmann and Janne Müller-Wieland all scored for the host team.
Both teams were extremely nervous at the start and missed passes from both sides prevented an attractive attacking game. However, after five minutes the game took off and an open exchange of shots developed, in which the Germans took more and more control. Maike Stöckel in the sixth minute and Eileen Hoffmann in the ninth had chances to put Germany into the lead, but failed due to the excellent Belgian defence player Nadine Khouzam.
The German women then pushed their opponents further and further into their own half. Belgium was hardly able to attack. National trainer Michael Behrmann’s team followed with fast combinations in attack and showed their potential. In the fifteenth minute Natascha Keller with a great individual performance beat three Belgian players and passed the ball to Jana Teschke. She then passed on directly to her team colleague Janine Beermann, whose shot from a sharp angle was again cleared by the Belgian goalkeeper.
Despite a number of good scoring chances, it was not until the 28th minute that Germany took the well-earned lead. After a penalty corner from Fanny Rinne, Maike Stöckel took the shot and was able to overcome the Belgian goalie. The DHB women then took a step back, but their good performance in defence was able to prevent further Belgian goal chances. The German players took the impetus of the first 35 minutes with them into the second half and immediately continued their attacking. Janine Beermann increased the lead in the 45th minute: she took on four opponents with the ball on her stick.
Nadine Khouzam in the Belgian goal could no longer parry the ball, which lifted under the bar. Only four minutes later the German offensive players surprised their Belgian opponents with a different kind of penalty corner. Instead of sending the ball straight to her stopper, Natascha Keller found her team colleague Eileen Hoffmann who only had to block the ball into the net. The Germans then slowed down the game a little but Belgium began to fade and was unable to take the game to the German defence.
Belgium’s trainer Pascal Kina admitted after the game that his players were tired. “The German team let the ball run and were stronger than us physically” he said in analysis. Ten minutes before the end German cleverly used this to again increase their lead. Janne Müller-Wieland was on target in the 65th minute to achieve a final score of 4:0, when captain Fanny Rinne returned the ball to her team colleague, who then scooped the ball the short distance into the goal. This performance re-established the reputation of the women’s national team after their 2:0 defeat by England two days previously.
Goalkeeper Maike Stückel admitted after the game: “We wanted to get rid of the anger and frustration after our game against England”. The victory means that the DHB women are guaranteed a semi-finals place. National trainer Beermann commented: “It doesn’t matter who comes, we have to knock them out of the way”. The semi-finals will determine the team’s position. “Our target is the final and that’s what we want to achieve”, said Behrmann, pointing the way.
Goals:
1:0 Maike Stöckel (PC, 24)
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2:0 Janine Beermann (45)
3:0 Eileen Hoffmann (PC, 49)
4:0 Janne Müller-Wieland (PC, 66)
Penalty corners:
GER 3 (3 goals) / BEL - (-)
Green cards:
Fanny Rinne (63) / Louise Cavenaile (68)
Umpires:
Iparraguirre / Sanders
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