Champion THW Kiel will be visiting Champions League winners SC Magdeburg in the top Bundesliga game on Saturday. Given the table constellation, it’s forbidden for both teams to lose. Kiel’s narrow victory in the premier class at Pelister was anything but a successful dress rehearsal.
The 23:20 in the “premier class” on Wednesday evening against the North Macedonian champions was a winning victory as usual for the “Zebras”, who have had a very inconsistent performance so far this season. That should change on Saturday in Magdeburg (7 p.m.), which celebrated the highest Champions League victory in the club’s history with 39:23 against the Slovenian record champions RK Celje.
“This is an absolute top game and focusing on it is not difficult at all,” said THW professional Rune Dahmke to NDR. But the left winger knows how difficult the task is: “There’s not much harder in the Bundesliga than playing in Magdeburg. It’s extremely physical and extremely heated with the atmosphere there. These are the games you play handball for.”
In the event of a defeat, the fifth-place team from Kiel (6:4 points) would already have six minus points more than the top duo MT Melsungen and Füchse Berlin (both 12:0) and at least three more than their rivals from Magdeburg (9:3). That would be a big burden in the fight to defend the title. Circular Patrick Wiencek still sees the SCM under pressure: “We will give everything. I think Magdeburg has a little more pressure, they have to win the game at home.”
In any case, the anticipation of the encounter is great. “This is a very special game that we are really looking forward to. There was always a lot of explosiveness in this game, and it has even increased in recent years. The hut will burn,” predicted THW managing director Viktor Szilagyi.
Ekberg: “We want to get two points”
The latest results should give the people of Schleswig-Holstein courage, as the Kiel team recently won the SCM twice. “We want to keep calm again and not let ourselves be infected by the hectic pace that is transferred from outside to the pitch,” said right winger Niclas Ekberg about the heated atmosphere in the sold-out Magdeburg Arena. But the route is clear for him: “We want to get the two points there.”
Szilagyi: “Game plan not beneficial for us”
In order not to waste any regeneration time after the victory in Bitola, HC Pelister’s hometown, the Kiel team flew to Leipzig on Thursday instead of to the fjord, where they will also complete their final training on Friday. “The schedule is certainly not an advantage for us,” said Szilagyi about the stress of travel.
After what felt like a knockout game in the league against SCM, the THW has a real one coming up next Tuesday (3 p.m.). In the third round of the DHB Cup, HSG Wetzlar is a guest at the fjord. Then the same applies: losing is forbidden.
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NDR 2 Sport | Sep 30, 2023 | 11:03 p.m
