GWD Minden celebrates its first win against Kiel in over 20 years – and it was vital.
Since February 12, 2006, GWD Minden had been waiting for a win against THW Kiel. This black series ended on Wednesday evening – and there could hardly have been a better time. Because of the 34:30 (16:17) home win, the Green-Whites can continue to stay in the league HandballBundesliga hope.
At the start, the Minden team kept up extremely well and always found an answer to the guests’ goals. Even the first two-goal deficit after seven minutes didn’t bother the GWD and they were able to equalize it again thanks to strong saves from their goalkeeper Malte Semisch.
Although the Kiel team kept the pace high, they were unable to gain a decisive lead afterwards. On the contrary: after just under a quarter of an hour, Minden took the lead again for the first time since the 3rd minute (10:9). There was also a chance to extend this to two goals, but that didn’t work.
Minden with an eight-minute goal drought
So it remained an extremely close and competitive game, in which Kiel’s goalkeeper Andreas Wolff increasingly came into focus after around 20 minutes. He prevented further goals with great saves against Niclas Heitkamp and shortly afterwards against Florian Kranzmann.
In total, GWD remained without a goal for a full eight minutes in this phase. Thanks to Semisch and a little luck with the post, the deficit still didn’t grow to more than two goals.
Astrup sees red
When the score was 14:15, Minden’s Daniel Astrup was shown the red card after a foul on Rasmus Ankermann. But even that couldn’t break Minden’s fighting spirit. With the half-time siren, Morten Hempel Jensen could have made it 17:17, but his throw bounced off the crossbar onto the ground and onto the arm of keeper Wolff. He just didn’t want to go in and so Minden remained narrowly behind at halftime.
Minden’s Philipp Vorlicek (l.) in a duel with Kiel’s Petter Overby
The second round also started with a lot of speed – but also with a few missed throws. Minden still managed to equalize quickly and even took the lead again in the 35th minute (19:18). The home team extended this lead to a full four goals by the 44th minute. Semisch saved two seven meters, and Minden also scored twice into the empty Kiel goal.
The GWD left their hearts on the record and impressively braced themselves against the threat of relegation. Six minutes before the end, the North Germans came close to scoring again, but Minden withstood this pressure situation. In addition to a throw rate of over 70 percent, the green-whites could especially thank Semisch, who had an absolutely fantastic day.
Showdown on the last match day?
In the end it was even a confident 34:30 success for GWD, which caught up with HSG Wetzlar on points. However, Wetzlar played one game less and had a significantly better goal difference. If Wetzlar doesn’t win in Hamburg tomorrow, there will be a big showdown about relegation on the last match day. And Minden doesn’t have a bad chance at all. Because while the Green-Whites will play against Leipzig, who have already been relegated at the bottom of the table, next Sunday, Wetzlar will host league leaders SC Magdeburg.
Our source:
- HBL game between Minden and Kiel from June 3rd, 2026 (live broadcast on Dyn)
Broadcast: “Minden defeats Kiel and still hopes to stay in the league,” WDR.deJune 3, 2026 10:08 p.m
