Handball Bundesliga: THW Kiel – Füchse Berlin live on Sunday

“We needed that now,” said Hendrik Pekeler in an interview with NDR – and the “huge relief” was written on the face of the THW runner. After the “difficult weeks with many draws and defeats, it’s just good for us.”

Because the victory in the nerve-wracking seven-meter throw over the Croatian club RK Nasice not only ensures a place in the Final Four of the European League in Hamburg on May 30th and 31st. Thanks to the success, the dream of a title lives on in a difficult season for the record champions – and, in a roundabout way, even the dream of qualifying for the Champions League.

EHF European League

Reached the Final Four! And in a dramatic way! The “Zebras” kept their nerve in the seven-meter throw in the second leg against Nasice and will be in Hamburg at the end of May.

Is the rollercoaster season looking up again?

While that still lies in the somewhat distant future, the hard-fought victory for the “Zebras” in what has been a rollercoaster season with many ups and downs can also have a more short-term effect – if it means the second restart. That would definitely be needed to save the playing time. After a good start last summer, the team fell into a hole, and this happened again recently after the interim high at the start of the second half of the season in February. “Crowned” by the 25:33 debacle in Wetzlar last Saturday.

After the victory over Nasice, coach Filip Jicha, who had recently come under criticism, particularly on social media, could be seen to what extent this affected those involved.

“We are currently going through a really intensive phase in all of our handball careers,” said the Czech, who has the next important encounter with his team on Sunday against Füchse Berlin (3 p.m., live on NDR television and in the live stream on ndr.de).

“You have to perform again in the next game. You have to repeat your performances.”

THW trainer Filip Jicha

It’s less about the table situation – the THW is fifth with room for improvement and improvement. But with a view to the season finale in Hamburg. Accordingly, Jicha said in the NDR interview that they had “enjoyed the moment”, but against Berlin they had to “show performance again in the next game. You have to repeat the performances.”

Knowing full well how difficult it will be against the newly crowned cup winner and Champions League Final Four participant – especially with his team’s personnel concerns. He hopes for the return of “convalescents in the backcourt”, but also knows: “Some players were planned for other positions. But we only have this staff available to us at the moment.”

Handball Bundesliga

The German handball record champion THW Kiel is slipping deeper and deeper into the sporting crisis. There was a bitter defeat on Saturday evening.

Johansson against the Foxes?

Against Nasice, Jicha had to play with “six or seven players”. Eric Johansson – the top THW goalscorer alongside Lukas Zerbe against the Croatians with ten goals – “we didn’t take him to Wetzlar so that he could play,” said Jicha. Whether he could also be part of the game against the Foxes “is left in the stars”.

After the Super Cup, the first leg and the cup quarter-finals, it is the fourth meeting between the two teams this season; the capital city team around superstar Mathias Gidsel has won all previous games. On the other hand, the Jicha team delivered its best performances this season against the other top teams Magdeburg and Flensburg.

If this succeeds – in the best case even with a good result – it would be the next step out of the crisis for the people of Kiel after Crime Tuesday. And maybe even towards a happy ending to a difficult season.

Results, table standings and match days at a glance.