The handball players of THW Kiel gave up their first home point in the Champions League preliminary round. The German record champion separated 36:36 (17:16) from the Danish club Aalborg HB.
In front of 6727 spectators, Eric Johansson scored nine goals for Kiel and Mikkel Hansen scored seven for Aalborg. In the group B table, the THW remains fifth behind the Danes with 5:7 points.
The guests, who initially did without their superstar Hansen in the tied game, got into the game well. In the 8:5 by ex-Kieler Aron Palmarsson (10th minute), the Danes were in the lead for the first time with three goals. THW coach Filip Jicha reacted and brought on Tomas Mrkva for the regular keeper Niklas Landin, who was unlucky in the early stages. The 33-year-old Czech ensured that the defensive of the North Germans stabilized.
Nikola Bilyk gave the hosts the lead for the first time at 16:15 (28th), but after the break Aalborg took over the lead again. In particular, the strong Swede Johansson ensured that the lead of the guests did not increase to more than three goals. The 22-year-old made it 32:30 (54th) with a penalty kick. A few seconds before the end, however, Aalborg scored the deserved draw.