Hamburg win German Super Cup

The first clash of the German top teams ended with a surprisingly clear victory: HSV Hamburg won the German Super Cup for the third time in the club’s history by beating THW Kiel 35:28 (15:11). This result is a clear message before the upcoming national and international season.

“We played excellent handball for 40 minutes, but in the very beginning we had problems with our rhythm,” HSV coach Martin Schwalb said after the match attended by more than 7,000 spectators in Nürnberg.

“It was a well-deserved defeat,” Kiel coach Alfred Gislasson added. “We missed the chance to turn the match around; I don’t know what was happening on the court.”

The best scorer at the season opener was Hamburg’s right wing Hans Lindbergh with 10 goals. He was also awarded best player of the match.

Three goalkeepers, Thierry Omeyer (Kiel), Jogi Bitter and Per Sandström (both Hamburg) were also in the spotlight.

The spectators saw three new stars, Daniel Narcisse in THW and the outstanding Croatian couple, Domagoj Duvnjak and Igor Vori in Hamburg.

HSV were in the lead for the entire 60 minutes. As they found their rhythm after 20 minutes, the German runner-up extended their lead to a comfortable 15:11 at halftime.

Kiel tried hard to come closer, but the smallest distance was two goals at 26:28. With big saves by Sandström HSV controlled the match and seven minutes before the end the winner was known when Torsten Jansen scored to make it 31:26.

The best scorer of Kiel was Hendrik Lundström with six goals.

“This victory was very important for us,” HSV back court Krzysztof Lijewski said. “This was a good step and a sign for Kiel that we’re able to catch up with them.”