handball | HBL: Kiel’s winning mentality makes coach Jicha “baffled”

The jubilation of THW Kiel after the handball thriller with a happy ending at defending champion SC Magdeburg was almost like a master. The 34:33 (19:16) victory in the Bundesliga top game was celebrated as a big point and strengthened the belief of the people from Kiel in the 23rd championship title.

“A lot of emotions go through my body. I’m enormously proud of the boys, the quality they presented. A win in Magdeburg is anything but a matter of course, so we’re all the more happy,” said THW trainer Filip Jicha.

It’s only a third of the season over, but if they lost, the title favorites would already have lost three more points than the champions. So everything stays close together in the top group, which includes Kiel and Magdeburg as well as Füchse Berlin, Rhein-Neckar Löwen and SG Flensburg-Handewitt. Jicha’s relief was correspondingly great, and he gave his protégés a day off as a reward: “They should have a nice Sunday with their families.”

Top performance in Kiel with “a lot of energy”

THW’s performance in front of 6,600 fans in the sold-out GETEC Arena and 1.37 million TV viewers on “ARD” was almost perfect for two thirds of the game and resulted in an eight-goal lead at 26:18 (41st minute). . “The boys played with a lot of energy and very ripped off. I’m a little amazed how they took over the game,” said Jicha.

But then the guests suddenly became hectic. Driven by the noisy crowd, the SCM fought their way back goal by goal and almost turned the game around. Shortly before the end, the hosts were close to one goal and after a red card against THW circle player Patrick Wiencek they were in the majority. But Nikola Bilyk pulled himself together 15 seconds before the final whistle and secured Kiel’s victory with his seventh goal. “It was an amazing handball game in front of an amazing backdrop,” said Jicha.

Special praise for outstanding Johansson

He gave extra praise to backcourt player Eric Johansson, who was the winner’s best thrower with eight goals. “Eric played in this hall for the first time. In long conversations I tried to prepare him for what awaits him here. It’s incredible what he’s doing at the age of 22,” said Jicha about the Danes who came in the summer added with a big grin: “I’m very satisfied – and a happy coach.”

The mood of his Magdeburg colleague Bennet Wiegert was completely different. “The way we fought back was extraordinary. I would have liked the boys to reward themselves for that,” said the 40-year-old at odds with the outcome of the game. Although his team passed the character test after the big deficit, “Today it was not about the character, it was about points. I don’t know how the viewers feel, mine is not so good.”

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