Dramatic match between two old rivals, Slovenia and Germany, had a lot to offer for handball lovers. 60 minutes of hard fight ended in favour of the World Champions. The decision came from a late goal by Domink Klien who set the final result 27:26 with just seconds on the clock.

 

"I’m very happy because we won, but I was a bit surprised that we were not stronger this game," this was the reaction of German coach Heiner Brand after his second victory in the EURO 2010 Qualification.

 

After a very close match in front of 5 500 fans in Celje's Zlatorog hall – with a reputation for a hot atmosphere – Dominik Klein scored against a brilliant Slovenian goalkeeper Beno Lapajne (18 saves) just few second before the end. This goal took Germany to first place in Group 5 with two wins.

 

Drama in Zlatorog "hell"

The Slovenian team did not start the match perfectly. The Germans took the initiative and were leading all the time until the 23rd minute. They were four goals ahead in the 13th minute (7:3). The second half of the game was a dramatic encounter…

 

The Slovenian team, with many changes in the team similarly to the Germans, took the lead for the first time in the 39th minute. They could not hold onto it. The young Germans were more determined, while the hosts made too many technical mistakes in attack. It could be a draw at the end, but Fortuna was on the German side this time.

 

The Slovenian coach Miro Požun had to cope with many injuries in the first phase of the Qualification. He talked about it:

 

"My players finally showed that they can be very hard in defense but we were too few in attack. We were playing too individually and had many problems, while David Špiler had to take all responsibility. Congratulations to the Germans who showed how good they are once again."

 

It is interesting that the Germans won all important international matches (EURO and World Championships) against the Slovenians who could not revenge for two EURO defeats in 2004 at the Slovenian EURO in Ljubljana.