Kiel beat Zagreb to book Last 16 berth

German title holders THW Kiel cruised into the VELUX EHF Champions League Last 16 with three games remaining in Group A after an emphatic win over Croatian rivals HC Prvo plinarsko drustvo Zagreb.

The outcome also gave Kiel a full measure of revenge for their defeat in the reverse fixture, when Zagreb stunned them in the group’s opening match in front of a raucous home crowd in the Croatian capital.

The result left Kiel in pole position on the table with 12 points from seven games, four ahead of Paris Saint-Germain Handball who will host Macedonian champions HC Metalurg on Sunday.

GROUP A
THW Kiel (GER) vs HC Prvo plinarsko drustvo Zagreb (CRO) 34:27 (16:16)

A strong start was crucial for Kiel to register their expected victory in this entertaining clash against Zagreb, whose hopes of advancing from a tough group are hanging in the balance after their fourth defeat in as many away games.

Kiel, in contrast, secured their passage to the business end of Europe’s premier club competition after right back Steffen Weinhold made the most of getting more playing time than usual as Marko Vujin was rested.

The irrepressible Weinhold scored a game-high nine goals to which Zagreb’s former playmaker Domagoj Duvnjak added seven to delight a full house in the Sparkassen-Arena.

It seemed Kiel would blow Zagreb away when they raced into a 5:1 lead in the opening few minutes. But the visitors came storming back and twice nosed ahead in the closing stages of the first half before Duvnjak levelled the score.

The home side ran riot and recorded a 7:1 streak in the first 10 minutes after the interval, swinging the match Kiel’s way as Zagreb had no reply for a barrage of fast breaks and some incisive attacking from set plays by the rampant hosts.

Luka Sebetic and Luka Stepancic, who topped the scoring for Zagreb with five goals each, did what they could as the visitors tried to stage another comeback. But Kiel had too much firepower, despite the continued absence of Filip Jicha and Aron Palmarsson.

Spaniard Joan Canellas Reixach chipped in with six goals, most of them from the penalty line, as the home side made sure there would be no final twist.

Stepancic kept Zagreb afloat when he scored his fifth to cut the deficit to 26:23, but the German outfit again moved up a gear when they needed to, powering forward at full throttle in the home straight to celebrate their sixth successive group win.