Kiel's handball players play 27:27 at Aalborg HB
THW Kiel missed out on a possible away win in the Handball Champions League. The German record champions only managed a 27:27 (17:13) win at Aalborg HB on Wednesday, despite leading by seven goals at one stage. In the previous week, the northern Germans had conceded an 18:27 defeat against the Danish runners-up. The best scorers were Nikola Bilyk with six goals for Kiel and Lukas Nilsson and Simon Hald with five goals each for Aalborg.
The North Germans were without their head coach Filip Jicha and the injured players Harald Reinkind and Rune Dahmke. Czech Jicha was replaced on the bench by his assistant Christian Sprenger. Nevertheless, Kiel got off to an excellent start. Reinkind's substitute Eduardo Gurbindo made it 3:1 (3rd minute) and Eric Johansson even increased the lead to 14:9 (24th minute).
THW's defense was particularly strong, with Hendrik Pekeler, Patrick Wiencek and Domagoj Duvnjak posing major problems for the Danish runners-up. In attack, Kiel had far fewer problems with their former teammate Niklas Landin in Aalborg's goal than in the previous week.
The visitors opened up a seven-goal lead for the first time in the 38th minute (22:15). Aalborg equalized after a strong spell to make it 27:27 in the 58th minute. In the final minute, Niclas Ekberg for Kiel and Mikkel Hansen for Aalborg both missed a seven-meter penalty. Duvnjak had the last chance for THW, but the Croatian's shot was blocked.
Despite the strong performance from THW Kiel's defense and a seven-goal lead in the Handball Champions League match against Aalborg HB, they settled for a 27:27 draw. Even in the absence of their head coach and injured players, Kiel's men, such as Eduardo Gurbindo and Eric Johansson, demonstrated impressive play, contributing to the lead.
Source: www.dpa.com
