An important match awaits the Borussia Dortmund women’s handballers, who absolutely need to pick up two points away to HSG Bad Wildungen on Saturday (18:30 CET) in their battle to finish third in the Bundesliga. The home side are counting on a particularly lively atmosphere for the reopening of their home venue.

“May will certainly be demanding, it will be an exciting few weeks for us,” Dana Bleckmann told the BVB Podcast when she was asked about the upcoming matches. The month will get under way this weekend with a short but not-to-be underestimated trip to Hesse. There is particular excitement about the clash with the Black & Yellows in the HSG Bad Wildungen camp, as the Vipers are set to return to their original hall.

The Hesse outfit are celebrating with a big day of events and a party afterwards. Nonetheless, the focus is on the action on the court. “We’re aware of BVB’s strength. However, we want to allow ourselves to be carried by the euphoria of returning to our living room and to do everything we can to deliver a battling performance in front of our fans and all the spectators,” backcourt player Marieke Blase explained.

“The game is super important,” emphasised Bleckmann. The Final Four of the European League (13-14/05) might already be looming large on the horizon, but “we also want to be playing internationally again next year and that’s why we absolutely need to be focused on the Bundesliga. It’s not easy to always flip the switch, but we need to pick up points and to be 100% focused, even if we’re really excited about Graz.”

BVB coach Henk Groener is approaching the game with optimism. “Even without the injured Alina Grijseels, the team have proven in their recent games that they are increasingly solid. They delivered very good performances in Metzingen and at home to Bietigheim, at a consistently high level for almost 60 minutes in both matches. That gives the players self-belief and shows that they’re capable of playing very good handball. We’ll also need that in Bad Wildungen,” declared the BVB coach. Bleckmann echoed her coach’s sentiments: “We have built up a healthy self-confidence and shown that we can be successful as a team, even without important players.”

The last time BVB travelled to Bad Wildungen in March 2022, they found themselves in a really close game before eventually running out 31-30 winners. The team would absolutely love to avoid a repeat of that when the action gets under way at the Ense-Halle at 18:30 CET. The match can be watched free-of-charge at Sportdeutschland.TV.