The Borussia Dortmund handball ladies have won the top of the table clash in the Handball-Bundesliga Women against SG BBM Bietigheim. With the 30-28 (16-17) victory on Wednesday evening in the Wellinghofen hall, the BVB ladies have now stretched their lead to seven points ahead of the team lying in second place in the table.

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Präsident Dr. Reinhard Rauball und Laura van der Heijden

The Borussia ladies were clearly feeling nervous at the start of the match and they initially made some technical errors: Kelly Vollebregt had put BVB in the lead with the first attack from the right wing to make it 1-0, but Bietigheim took a 3-1 lead after 4 minutes thanks to a back court goal and two quick counter-attacks.

However, BVB went ahead again after nine minutes by taking a more courageous approach in the defence and showing more conviction up-front (7-5). In particular, the great goals from Kelly Dulfer and Laura van der Heijden were important for the hosts during the early stages.

Yet Bietigheim hung in there. When Isabell Roch put a stop to a quick counter-attack from the guests after 16 minutes, the game was tied at 10-10. Another mistake by Borussia then led to a two-goal lead for SG (12-10), André Fuhr called a time-out – and the break did BVB some good: After 20 minutes, Alina Grijseels's shot tied the game at 13-13, before Isabell Roch prevented a counter-attack and Laura van der Heijden gave the Black and Yellows the lead at 14-13.

But against top clubs like Bietigheim, every little mistake is punished immediately: after a two-minute suspension for Johanna Stockschläder, the guests took advantage of their superior numbers and edged 17-14 ahead after 25 minutes. After that, however, the Black and Yellows were on top until the break, with André Fuhr's team fighting back to 16-17.

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The second half started with two excellent saves from Yara ten Holte. Kelly Dulfer scored the equaliser for 17-17, then quickly followed up with goal number 18 for the Black and Yellows before Alina Grijseels scored a penalty throw to give BVB a 19-17 lead on 38 minutes. BVB had turned the game around. Even when Inger Smits had to sit out a suspension, the Black and Yellows held on to the lead with goals from Grijseels and some great saves from ten Holte. After 44 minutes, the score was 23-20.

The captain of the Dortmund team converted her next penalty-throw after 49 minutes to make it 26-23 after Merel Freriks had provoked Bietigheim into a two-minute time suspension of their own. The Borussia ladies were now radiating the confidence they had gained, whereas the girls from Bietigheim wasted more chances. As a result, the lead grew to four goals after 54 minutes (28-24).

When Laura van der Heijden found the net one and a half minutes before the end to make it 20-27, it was all looking good for the Black and Yellows. Bietigheim, however, immediately fought back to make it 28-30, prompting André Fuhr to call another time-out one minute before the final whistle. Laura van der Heijden's subsequent throw hit the post, but Yara ten Holte's save saw out a 30-28 victory.

"We're very happy that we got the two points. Today we had the quality and morale in the team to turn the game around. Such a great game deserved to have 2000 spectators watching today," said André Fuhr. Bietigheim coach Markus Gaugisch agreed with the BVB coach: "The game today was lived up to the billing as a top of the table clash."

BVB Handball Women: Duijndam, Roch, ten Holte; Grijseels (6/2), van der Heijden (5), van Zijl, Smits (3/1), Abdulla (1), Stockschläder, Freriks (5), Dulfer (8), Rode, Bleckmann, Vollebregt (2), Gutiérrez Bermejo, Danielsson