Barbosa leads valiant Thüringer comeback

Danish contenders Midtjylland appeared to be in complete control early in the second half when they held a six-goal advantage over German rivals Thüringer HC, but playmaker Alexandrina Barbosa and goalkeeper Maike März engineered the home side’s impressive fightback in Nordhausen.  

Group 1
Thuringer HC (GER) vs FC Midtjylland (DEN) 26:24 (10:14)

What goes around comes around.

Midtjylland scraped a barely deserved win over Sävehof with a strong finish in last weekend’s Main Round opener on home court but this time they were on the receiving end of a magnificent comeback at Thüringer HC, who overcame a six-goal second half deficit to haul themselves back into the race for one of the top two spots and hence a Women's EHF FINAL4 berth.

The home side made a brighter start and took a 4:2 lead early on, but Midtjylland then moved up a gear and scored four goals without reply to swing the pendulum their way.

The first-half rollercoaster was still in the balance with the score tied 8:8 with 10 minutes left, but Midtjylland then netted five times in a row and eventually took a four-goal lead into the dressing room at the interval.

There seemed to be no way back for THC after Nycke Groot fired the visitors into an 18:12 lead shortly after the break, as the Danish team’s fast breaks and quick transition of the ball bedazzled the home side and almost silenced their noisy fans.

But two goals each by Danick Snelder and Nadja Nadgornaja, coupled with a string of outstanding saves by goalkeeper Maike März, propelled Thuringer back into the match as trademark German resilience seemed to grind fast-flowing Danish attacking to a halt.

Goals by Line Jörgensen and Trine Jensen, however, kept Midtjylland in the driving seat as they headed into the last 10 minutes with a sound 23:19 advantage.

Enter Alexandrina Barbosa.

The versatile playmaker had scored only two goals up to that point but after being rested on the bench to recuperate for what turned out to be a dramatic climax to the rip-roaring contest, she turned the match on its head.

The unstoppable middle back scored three of Thüringer’s next five goals to put her team on level terms, as right wing Svenja Huber also kept finding the back of the net with seven-metre penalty shots and darting runs through down her flank.

Midtjylland still looked the more likely winners when the teams were deadlocked 24:24 with three minutes left, as Nadgornaja was suspended for two minutes for pushing am opponent with both hands.

But März produced another two stunning saves while Huber and Sonja Frey struck at the other end, the latter after a superb crosscourt pass by Barbosa which caught the entire Midtjylland defence off guard.