Ahlm's words of wisdom

Successful days for THW Kiel: The German champions are in a period when they have to face the most important rivals on a national and international level. Only three days after winning away to FC Barcelona by 30:27, Kiel visited the Campushalle and have beaten SG Flensburg-Handweitt away by 41:33 (21:17). This was the first time ever that Kiel scored over 40 goals at this North German derby. Now THW are number one again in the Bundesliga, one point ahead of Hamburg.

Nobody could expect such a start from a squad that went through many changes before the season. One week ago, THW lost their first home point after 399 days against TBV Lemgo in the Toyota Bundesliga. “This was an alarm signal,” people in Kiel said after the victories in Barcelona and Flensburg.

In Flensburg the host didn’t have a chance at a one-sided game. The match winner of THW was Momir Illic who scored 13 goals from 16 attempts.

After these top matches coach Alfred Gislasson was highly satisfied: “We improved in Barcelona, but in Flensburg this was real top level. I hope we can save this form until Saturday when we play the Champions League match in Skopje. We have to be aware because all matches in Balkan countries are hard to play due to the frenetic spectators. But we want to win and take the lead in our group.”

Momir Ilic agrees: “If we play like we did in Barcelona and Flensburg, we’re the favourites in Skopje.”

But even after a great start with two victories, line player Marcus Ahlm warns the others:

“Champions League is not a venture that runs on its own. Even if we had a fantastis start we have to respect every opponent. Hard matches will come and nothing is decided yet. I don’t want to say that we’re favourites now, but we have good chances. The first steps were made, but there are eight group matches more.”