The Red Panther then took the first shot for her. His goal was decisive for the title. “I wanted to shoot first to start Ghent well”she explains.
Not everything went as planned. Ballenghien slipped in front of the Dragons goalkeeper. “I moved forward to put my back to her. I slipped. I got up. I dodged a desperate shot. I wanted to circumvent it.”
She dove to push the ball into the goal. As she landed on the ground, she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. The verdict is heavy: broken collarbone. “I made 37,000 of such dives in training or in matches. Here I had pushed the ball a bit too far.”
Getting up, she tried to keep a good figure. “I didn’t want to upset my teammates. I just said I wouldn’t take a possible stroke.”
Four shoot outs later, Ghent took the title on the wire. “I was really happy. I gave everything for this victory. If I could redo it, I would. Leaving the field, I saw our physio. The shoulder did not seem dislocated. The Dragon girls told me about a quick hospital 10 minutes away. Within an hour I had an x-ray showing the fractured collarbone.”
No Pro League in June
The Red Panther can give up on its presence in the Pro League during the month of June. “It’s a blow because the Pro League is the ideal preparation for the European championships.”
His unavailability is estimated at a minimum of six weeks. “We do not know yet. On Tuesday we will decide whether to operate. The doctor was telling me about a dislocated shoulder. Our physio is more optimistic. We will see more clearly in 24 hours. I will not forget this Sunday when I experienced two extreme emotions”concludes Ambre Ballenghien.
