Handball men crowned national champions

WARRINGTON Wolves senior men’s handball team completed their first-ever season in England Handball’s elite Super 8 League by winning the title on the final day of the season.
They were crowned Super 8 Champions ahead of great rivals London GD, their opponents kin the final match.
An eagerly anticipated match, it had been seen for some time that it could well be the title decider – and it did not disappoint on drama from start to finish.
During warm up, the visitors looked ready for the fight. The full London GD squad looked to have a physical edge, as their large squad consisted entirely of senior, seasoned players from several countries, all of which have a greater pedigree in handball than England. The GD squad also had experienced multiple Super 8, English League and Cup wins.
Wolves’ squad by comparison had an average age in the early 20’s, was entirely of young English players other than two young Germans on student exchange, and included several under 18 players for who this would be the biggest game of their fledgling careers.
It looked a tall order for the young squad. In addition, key players were carrying inquiries, and could have been seen as doubtful to be able to compete for 60 minutes.
That seemed to be borne out when in ferocious and frenzied early exchanges Warrington found themselves 3-5 down.
Coach Bill Baillie managed to settle the squad during a time-out, and they resumed with a more organised air. The defence improved their communication, and once the ship was steadied began to increase the level of aggression around seven metres. There followed a series of turnover balls when GD were in attack, which coupled with Rafik Tahraoui’s pace on the fast break and the Wolves’ calmer approach in attack meant a seven goal burst without reply for them to take a 10-5 lead before the jubilant and noisy home crowd.
This stung GD into a time-out of their own, and they came back out with renewed fight, pulling the scoreline back in. For the remainder of the half the match swung either way, with London GD at one point drawing level. Warrington battled back to open the margin again, and the lead stayed with them going in at half-time with a two goal lead.
The second half began much as the first, London GD throwing themselves into the fray to try to regain the lead, but the early nerves that had been a factor in Wolves’ defence were gone, and for a long period there were no easy goals for the visitors.
Warrington battled hard at the other end, and were able to slowly exert pressure to increase their lead out to five goals again, only for London GD then to produce their most rampant moments of the game midway through the second half, to again draw Wolves back within reach. It seemed it might go right down to the wire, but as fatigue crept in, so did the errors. As the contest went into the final 10 minutes the London GD defence, heavily pressurised all afternoon conceded two more penalties, both despatched by Chris Woltering and further fast breaks by man-of-the-match Tahraoui opened the lead out to four goals again, his 13 goals in the game underlining an exceptional performance.
Although GD threw everything into the final five minutes, including a full court press against a short-handed Wolves team, the youngsters kept their composure to close the game out for a deserved 28-26 victory, having never surrendered the lead once they gained it seven minutes into the match.