THW Kiel presented itself in strong form on the second day of the handball Bundesliga. In the win against VfL Gummersbach on Thursday (08/31/2023), the champions even cracked the 40-goal mark. The Rhein-Neckar Löwen only played a draw.
After the 36:25 at HBW Balingen-Weilstetten, Kiel also clearly defeated VfL Gummersbach with 41:30 (22:16). In the 105th meeting between the two traditional clubs, Eric Johansson was THW’s best thrower with eight goals. Tilen Kodrin was also successful for the guests eight times.
A nine-goal series paves the way for Kiel early on
The record champions from Kiel made things clear in front of 10,028 spectators in their home arena with a strong opening phase. With nine goals in a row, coach Filip Jicha’s team pulled away from 2:3 (3rd) to 11:3 (11th). “There were far too many technical errors on our part,” said VfL backcourt player Julian Köster during the half-time break at “Dyn”. Kiel’s managing director Viktor Szilagyi was in a much better mood. “That’s how we want to perform at home,” said the Austrian.
After the break, the hosts initially lost their line, Gummersbach closed the gap to 23:26 (42nd). In the last quarter of the game, Kiel, where the Spanish signing Eduardo Gurbindo celebrated his Bundesliga debut, pulled away again and celebrated a clear victory.
Löwen start without a win, Hannover wins again
Cup winner Rhein-Neckar Löwen only managed a 27:27 (12:11) draw at Frisch Auf Göppingen in his first game of the season. Almost six minutes before the final whistle, Mannheim was still leading 26:23, but then conceded four goals in a row. At the last second, left winger David Moré secured the lion’s happy draw with his eighth goal.
Like Kiel, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf also celebrated their second win in their second game. There was a tight 31:30 (14:14) against ThSV Eisenach, in which Marius Steinhauser (eight goals) and Renars Uscins (seven goals) were the best throwers.