Germany battle to second win in Qatar
January 18, 2015
Germany's protected their 100 percent record at the 2015 handball World Cup with a narrow one-goal win over Russia.
Dagur Sigurdsson's men began the tournament with a 29:26 win over Poland, but fell behind to the alert Russians who aggressively cut out any German counterattack.
Trailing 5:3 in the early exchanges, Germany did manage to pull the game back to six all before Oleg Kuleshov's physical team added some breathing space (13:9) at the break.
The second half though, in front of 3,500 spectators in Doha, was reserved for an outstanding performance from Germany captain Uwe Gensheimer who snatched the limelight in his 100th appearance for the national team.
Scoring nine goals, Gensheimer propelled Germany - the 2007 world champions - to a stunning comeback. The scores were level at 14:14 after 35 minutes, before Germany took the lead 25:22 with just a few minutes left to play.
Even as Russia knocked on the door near the end, Germany's know-how and concentration proved enough as they held out for a win.
"Overall, it wasn't as enthralling as the first game, but you need to win these games," admitted German goalie Carsten Lichtlein. "We have shown some good games. We can now compete with self-confidence against Denmark," said coach Sigurdsson.
Denmark are Germany's next opponent and they will compete against each other one Tuesday. Another two points would guarantee their place in the next round.
rd/jh (dpa, SID)