The Borussia Dortmund women’s handballers have recently picked up three wins in a row in the Bundesliga and will be targeting a fourth on Saturday (19:00 CET). But to do so they will need a perfect performance, because the reigning champions and cup winners SG BBM Bietigheim will be the visitors at the Westpress-Arena in Hamm.

The leaders are yet to drop a single point this season too and are close to retaining their title. So it will not be an easy task for Henk Groener’s charges, who claimed an important triumph at TuS Metzingen on Wednesday. After all, the 33-26 (18-16) win kept not only their opponent at arm’s length in the table but also challengers Blomberg and Oldenburg, who are both still eyeing third place. No wonder there was a feeling of immense joy about the two points after the match.

“That was a good performance from the team across the 60 minutes, and we mustn’t forget we conceded three time penalties in the first 10 minutes,” said the BVB coach directly after the game. “But we then defended well and played with a lot of tempo. Compliments to the team. They did a very good job of implementing what we’d set out to do beforehand.”

They continuously managed to take the pace out off the opposition’s game and caused Metzingen several headaches. “It was really good fun to watch,” commented an enthusiastic Groener. They will especially need a repeat of that strong defensive performance if they want to throw a spanner in the works for the favourites from Bietigheim. The visitors last suffered a defeat at domestic level on 31 March 2021. The opposition on that occasion: Borussia Dortmund. 

“It’ll be a tough nut to crack, no question. The good thing is that we were able to boost our self-confidence against Metzingen. Markus Gaugisch (editor’s note: the Bietigheim coach) was in the stands and will have been watching very closely,” said Groener, adding. “They will certainly find their solutions. We need to approach the game with the attitude we showed against Metzingen and go about our business well.”

Goalkeeper Madita Kohorst agreed with her coach. “Obviously, we’re the underdog in the game. But at home, with the spectators behind us, something is definitely possible. Bietigheim have also not always played so consistently recently. But we have to play with much more concentration if we want to frustrate them.”

The match can be watched free of charge on the streaming platform Sportdeutschland.TV, with Sascha Staat the commentator. The HBF top match will be produced to a higher standard, with microphones in the timeouts for example. Throw-off in Hamm is at 19:00 CET; tickets can be purchased via the BVB Online Ticket Shop and from the ticket office that will be open on the evening. Further information on the match can be found in the digital programme.