The decision in Penalty Shootout: The women’s final needs the shootout to find a winner. In the end, Düsseldorfer HC prevailed 2:3 and defended the title from the previous year. The game report:
Mannheimer HC – Düsseldorfer HC 2: 3 (0: 0; 0: 0)
For the last game of this Final4 weekend and the Bundesliga season 2021/2022, the two finalists from Mannheim and Düsseldorf faced each other in Bonn. This constellation already existed last year, with the better end for the women from Düsseldorf, who were able to prevail in the shootout.
The rain started again in Bonn just in time for the kick-off. That didn’t bother the players on the pitch very much, the women from Düsseldorf made the first two entries into the circle. The first penalty corner whistle was then given to Mannheim, which was taken back by the video referee. Düsseldorf came to an end on the other side, but Lisa Schneider still had a toe in between (7th). A penalty corner in the last minute of the quarter was parried by Schneider, as was the repeat corner (15′).
Mannheim then had the chance to take the lead right at the beginning of the second fourth, but Nadine Kanler’s shot at the goal failed because of Nathalie Kubalski in the Düsseldorf goal (16th). Unfortunately, very little happened for a full ten minutes, both teams didn’t seem to want to take any risks and didn’t want to give up their secure structure. After the penalty corner, Düsseldorf had the chance to take a penalty corner, but it went unused (26′). Three minutes later, Friederike Heusgen was unable to play a counterattack until the goal was scored (30′).
In the second half, Mannheim started better this time, but as so often in this game, the last pass didn’t find its way to the teammate. After a few minutes without any action worth mentioning, Düsseldorf took another penalty corner after almost six minutes in the second half (36th). Lisa Schneider managed to fish the shot out of the bottom left corner. Under the meanwhile pouring rain, the spectators in Bonn continued to see a close and balanced game. A good six minutes later, Mannheim had the next good opportunity to score, but there was no goal here either (43′). So we went into the quarter break 0-0.
In the last section, Mannheim was clearly in control, but the ball just didn’t want to go into the Düsseldorf goal. As a reaction to a few Mannheim chances, however, the DHC took control of the game again. Düsseldorf, who scored more goals in the last quarter than in the other quarters throughout the season, played the ball back and forth for minutes but couldn’t find a gap in the Mannheim defence. At the last second, a Mannheim striker even won a penalty corner – the opportunity for the MHC to decide the game at the last second: But after a short consultation, this was withdrawn by the team of referees, and the video referee also confirmed this decision. Thus, like the semi-finals of the Düsseldorf women, the final game had to go into the penalty shootout.
Lucina van der Heyde brought Nathalie Kubalski to a standstill with a quick spin, actually had the goal clear in front of her, but lobbed the ball over the goal. Stoffelsma scored through the legs of Lisa Schneider for Düsseldorf. Charlotte Gerstenhöfer scored as the next shooter of the Mannheim team. Elisa Gräve for Düsseldorf awarded the second penalty for the DHC. Schneider was already beaten in goal, but Gräve didn’t get the ball over the line with his backhand. As the third shooter, Sonja Zimmermann scored in her last game for Mannheim, and in return Sara Strauss scored for Düsseldorf to make it 2-2 after three shooters.
After a foul in the fourth penalty, Mannheim was awarded a seven-metre throw, but Kubalski was able to direct it to the goal post with his glove. Selin Oruz converted confidently. In the event that Mannheim would not hit the next penalty, Düsseldorf would be champions: And Stine Kurz actually missed this chance, to the delight of the Düsseldorf women.
Like last year, Mannheim loses the final of the German championship, Düsseldorfer HC can look forward to defending the title.
Photo: HOCKEYLIGA eV / D.Markgraf
