Kiel suffer in Berlin

What a match! The German champions and Champions League finalists, THW Kiel, nearly lost the game in Berlin.

The “Foxes” were leading by 24:18 just twelve minutes before the end, but Viktor Szilágyi was the match winner for THW after a tense end-game. Szilágyi scored the last three Kiel goals to turn the game – the winning goal came just a second before the final whistle.

Kiel are still leading the Bundesliga, one point ahead of Flensburg-Handewitt who won very easily in Großwallstadt.

3.000 THW fans travelled to the German capital to see a clear victory just one week before the first CL Final. But they had to shiver until the match was over. Everything looked like “business as usual” as Kiel were leading 4:0 and 7:3, but Berlin fought hard. They equalised and went into the cabin with an 11:13, especially as Kiel missed (all together) five of ten penalty shots.

Kiel played even worse after the break. With a series of 12:4, Berlin took a 23:17 lead (47th minute) and it looked like the match was decided. The Foxes’ goalkeeper, Peter Stochl, played the “match of his life”.

But then THW coach Noka Serdarusic made too decisive decisions: at first he changed goalkeeper – and Mathias Andersson made some great saves. And then Szilágyi came on and everything went right.

“We were so lucky to win this match,” Szilágyi said. “It’s hard to say something after such a dramatic game,” coach Serdarusic added.

Right before the first leg of the Champions League final in Ciudad Real on Sunday, THW will play against HSG Nordhorn on Wednesday – the last club to beat Kiel in the league.

“We did not think about Ciudad Real before and during the match, as we never think about the later opponent. The next match will be against Nordhorn and after that we will prepare for Ciudad,” said Szilágyi.