Kiel take major step

The first leg of the 2007/08 Champions League finals was played in Ciudad Real. As expected, the hall was sold out and the Spanish supporters created hot atmosphere for the teams.

And the teams seemed eager to decide the matter as soon as possible. The first minutes were marked by a great number of goals with no real defending on either side and only a few missed or shots saved the goals.

Kiel’s nimble left winger, Dominik Klein, had to leave the court injured after a few minutes as he was fouled by Dinart and the unfortunate incident ended with the German player leaving the court and resting for most of the first half.

Kiel were somewhat better at the beginning and took a two-goal lead by the 10th minute. Karabatic, Ahlm and Löwgren were most active in attack. However, coach Serdarusic was not satisfied with the goalkeeping performance of Omeyer and sent Andersson on court instead. Dujshebaev also made a few substitutions and brought on Rutenka and Zorman instead of Enterrios and Pajovic.

Only Stefansson and Laen were not bothered by these modifications on the home side and they kept scoring, while Sterbik also showed an improving form from minute to minute in the goal.

The teams slowed down for the second part of the first half and Kiel went in the locker room with a 13-14 lead.

The second half was just as tough, emotional as the first one was and the lead changed hands on more occasions. Shortly after the break Ciudad Real seemed to have the upper hand. Karabatic suffered a minor injury and the hosts made use of it to take a 21-19 lead in ten minutes. The wing players of Ciudad were dangerous for the first time and Serdarusic quickly decided to bring Omeyer and Karabatic back.

Kiel on French wings

This was the winning solution from the Kiel coach as the match changed completely. The French back player was virtually unstoppable from the 9-metre line, while the Spanish team lost Rutenka due to a shoulder injury.

Kiel took the lead back by the 22nd minute (25:26 with a Jicha goal) and coach Dujshebaev was forced to call a time-out.

Ciudad tried to come back once again, but Karabatic, Omeyer and Ahlm were too much for them to cope with. In the closing seconds of the game the French goalkeeper showed once again his unique skills and the first leg of the finals ended with a 27:29 Kiel victory.