AUDIO: Melsungen wins final against THW Kiel (1 min)
Handball
As of: May 31, 2026 8:18 p.m
The German handball record champion THW Kiel ends the season without winning a title. In the final of the European League, the “Zebras” lost to MT Melsungen 23:24 (12:13) in Hamburg on Sunday. The Hessians, on the other hand, celebrated the greatest success in the club’s history – and had the chance of a place in the Champions League.
When Kiel’s Eric Johansson’s last throw landed in the Melsung players’ block, it was finally clear: This season will remain a messed up one for Kiel. While the THW stars pulled their jerseys over their faces in frustration, the Melsungers celebrated their historic first major title win in the thriller in Hamburg.
National player Timo Kastening ran completely detached across the field, final hero Nebojsa Simic cried tears of happiness. “Oh, how beautiful that is,” Kastening and Co. sang with the fans who had traveled with them after the dramatic success. Melsungen can now also hope to take part in the Champions League, but for the North Germans, who made it to the final with a narrow win against Montpellier, the dream has shattered.
THW keeper Wolff had no support in the first half
The favored Kiel team were unable to pull away from MT with more than two goals (7:5, 10:8) in the first half. The most important shooter from the backcourt, the Swede Johansson, only managed a shooting rate of 33 percent (2/6) before the break. And unlike in the semi-final against Montpellier, goalkeeper Andreas Wolff was initially no support. After just one save in 21 minutes, Jicha brought on Spaniard Gonzalo Perez de Vargas for the German national goalkeeper when the score was 10:10.
The game in the first half wasn’t nice to look at. There was more handball work than play. Melsungen went into the break with a 13:12 lead, and goalkeeper Nebojsa Simic played a big part in that. The Montenegrin fended off, among other things, a seven-meter throw from Bence Imre.
Johansson’s throw lands in the block – Melsungen celebrates
Former Flensburg player Aaron Mensing gave Melsungen a 17:15 lead (40th), but Johansson and Harald Reinkind responded directly and equalized. It remained the same afterwards: no team was able to pull away with a difference of more than two goals. Four minutes before the end, Lukas Zerbe equalized for Kiel from a seven-meter penalty to make it 22:22 – it was completely unclear who would triumph in the end.
37 seconds before the end, MT coach Roberto Garcia Parrondo called a timeout at 23:23 to instruct his players for the decisive move. And after a diagonal pass from Dainis Kristopans, David Mandic made it 24:23 for Melsungen. THW coach Filip Jicha immediately pressed the buzzer. His players had 14 seconds left. Domagoj Duvnjak’s throw was blocked. One last free throw remained – but Johanssson put the ball into the wall.
SG with larger reserves in the game for third place
SG Flensburg-Handewitt had previously won the game for third place against Montpellier HB with 32:30 (16:16). Right from the start, the SG appeared to have recovered well from the semi-final defeat against Melsungen the day before. Even a red card against Niclas Kirkelökke (6th), who hit Valentin Porte in the face, initially did not weaken the Schleswig-Holstein team. The Bundesliga team temporarily moved ahead by four goals (16:12/25th), before a drop in performance in the final phase of the first half ensured that the French were able to equalize.
After halftime, the spectators saw a duel at eye level for a long time. In the final phase, Flensburg had the greater reserves of strength and took a decisive lead to 31:27 three minutes before the end.
The most successful shooter for the North Germans was Simon Pytlick with seven goals. Zvonimir Srna scored most often for Montpellier (six goals). Thanks to their success in the duel between last year’s two finalists, the Schleswig-Holstein team secured a bonus of 50,000 euros.
