The MT Melsungen played a tie against THW Kiel in the European League. The game remained open until the last second.
Eric Balenciaga saved the MT Melsungen at the start of the skin in the European League. The playmaker scored 26:26 (14:13) compensation in German duel with the THW Kiel a few seconds before the final whistle. The Bundesliga leader turned the first home defeat since May 2024.
Both teams are at the top of the table with five points in group 3. The best throwers were in front of 3289 spectators in the Kassel Rothenbach-Halle Aaron Mensing and Ian Barrufet with six goals each.
At the beginning it was a balanced game. No team was able to settle. That changed after about 20 minutes when goalkeeper Nebojsa Simic was able to ward off more and more balls from the Kiel. However, his opposite Andreas Wolff did not get anything. So the MT was able to set on five goals (17:12).
Too many technical errors in the MT
A change of goalkeeper from the north German inhibited the game flow of the home side, who had too many technical errors and sparkled down balls lightly. Tomas MRKVA also prevented numerous options. So Melsungen had to accept a 6-2 run by the German record champion and only went into the break with one goal.
After the restart, it remained a tight match before the zebras set off to 21:18 at 18:18. MT coach Roberto Garcia Parrondo reacted and switched to seven against six. That and a time penalty brought the North Hesse back into play. It remained exciting with a game outcome at the end.
First place in the group would mean the direct leap into the quarter -finals. The second and the third must take a detour via the playoffs. The other opponents in the group are Vojvodina from Serbia and FC Porto.
