Kiel prepare for Champions Trophy with heroic victory

The two German top teams played an incredible match with an incredible high number of goals. The first top match of the German Toyota Bundesliga between the two Champions League participants finished with the victory of THW Kiel.

The “Zebras” have beaten the “Lions” (Rhein Neckar Löwen) in the SAP Arena (9 150 spectators) by 42:40 (23:21). The star of the match was Kiel’s captain, Stefan Lövgren (nickname: “the lion”), who scored 18 goals – one less than the league record. The Polish international Jerzy Klempel scored 19 goals in a match in 1982.

But not only Lövgren was outstanding, but also the high speed. After 25 minute 40 goals were already scored – the number shows that the teams didn’t care about their defences.

“Lövgren played sensationally”, both club managers Uwe Schwenker (Kiel) and Thorsten Storm (Löwen) said after the match. Another Swedish player was in the focus: Kiel’s goalkeeper Andreas Palicka (20), who substituted Olympic champion Thierry Omeyer after 14 minutes became matchwinner with 18 saves.

The Lions expected to have a good chance to win as Kiel were still missing Nikola Karabatic, who will not be able to play at the EHF Champions Trophy next weekend in Veszprém due to his elbow injury.

But Lövgren took the command right after the furious start of the “Lions”. After 22 minutes Lövgren scored his tenth goal and he was unstoppable.

“I’m very, very satisfied with our performance”, said Kiel coach Alfred Gislasson, as “Löwen” coach Ioury Chevtsov talked about the “small but decisive mistakes that led to our defeat”.

In the mid second half, Kiel increased the gap to 37:31 – but the “Lions” fought hard. 80 seconds before the end the difference was only one goal (39:40). Especially the new “Lion” Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson (best RNL scorer with eight goals) speeded up the game and hit Kiel from counter attacks.

But Lövgren sank the “lions” with his 18th goals in the last minute.

“It was an unbelievable match with an incredible speed”, Lövgren said. “I didn’t win it alone, the team did.”

After round four in the Toyota Bundesliga, Kiel are only third because of the draw in the first round against the newly promoted team of Dormagen. Kiel have 7:1 points and they stand behind Flensburg and Göppingen (both 8:0). Hamburg lost on Saturday also against Dormagen and has 4:2 points on their account, just as the “Lions”.