The German handball record champion THW Kiel has made a perfect start to the new Champions League year. After a strong first half, Kiel won on Thursday 32:29 (22:13) against the Polish series champion Vive Kielce around the German world-class goalkeeper Andreas Wolff and consolidated fourth place in Group B with the first win against the Poles since 2010 .
Meanwhile, the German champions SC Magdeburg made a surprising mistake. At the Polish club Wisla Plock, coach Bennet Wiegert’s team lost 24:25 (10:14) and suffered their third defeat in eleven games. Third in Group A, Magdeburg is still on course.
A few weeks after his strong performances at the World Cup, Wolff only made seven saves. Kiel’s best thrower was Niclas Ekberg (eight goals), who had to leave the court with an ankle injury in the final phase.
Magdeburg was never in the lead with the Poles, but fought back in the final sprint and equalized four minutes before the end to 24:24. On the strong Marcel Jastrzebski in goal of the hosts, who towered over with 19 saves, the SCM bit his teeth again and again. Another concern was an injury to Philipp Weber, who had to leave the field shortly before the end.