Post-match blog: Rebirth of champions

Awesome! If you were to look up a thesaurus and find every applicable word then you still would not find the correct word to describe the Kiel performance. Flawless would be more apt. I have never seen such a symbiosis of defence and goalkeeper with counter attack and a myriad of options in attack when faced with a regrouped defence. It was a day when the unbeaten Veszprém faced the phalanx of Kiel, akin to the stand at Thermopylae, when there was just no way through.

Veszprém arrived in good spirits albeit with that gnawing doubt that they face, once again, Alfred Gislason and his troops, a man who had dashed their dreams on more than one occasion. However, this time they had Ortega at their head and surely his new tactics and style of play would banish the demons of yesteryear.

From the moment the lights went down and "Thay Ha Vay (THW) reverberated around the hall you could sense a pulsating urgency that this Kiel team would put to rights the reverse in Hungary.

No one could have expected what followed. A Kiel team which has been notorious in its inexplicable slow starts in games this season, came out of the blocks like Usain Bolt. They mauled Veszprém and it took the Hungarians time to recalibrate and find their rhythm.

This they did, but when the Kiel defence was not repulsing their attacks, Omeyer rediscovered a form that once made him World Player of the Year. Such was his performance that he could legitimately be considered for all Top 5 saves of the week, in some way reminiscent of Elvis or The Beatles sitting atop the charts in all 5 positions.

However, this Veszprém team is made of sterner stuff and although they were not playing well, the incredible Fazekas and Császár were keeping them within reach.

Fazekas, who had been the difference in the last 15 minutes in the reverse fixture, was only outshone by the above mentioned Omeyer. He saved fast breaks, one on ones, line shots and all manner of back shots to keep his team in touch. Császár in the attack was the brightest star for Veszprém, but even he could not have foreseen the implosion in his team.

At the start of the second half, he and Nagy brought Veszprém within two goals of Kiel having trailed by 4 at half time and all was looking better. But Kiel stepped on the gas, shifted gears and the juggernaut exploded into life. As if things were not bad enough, Kiel was able to introduce an entirely new Back court division in the second half. Imagine leaving Jícha and Narcisse on the bench the entire first half and unleashing the dogs of war on an unsuspecting Veszprém.

Just when they thought they had held the tide, the next wave crashed against them. They were like the boy with his finger in the dam. There was no answer to the tsunami that engulfed them.

Kiel produced a masterclass of handball in every facet of their play. They wanted it more and when they sensed a capitulation they forced the issue even more as if to wring every bit of confidence from the Magyars.

They were relentless. Even Vujin looked like he was exorcising  the pain and hurt of his away game in Hungary. They had the bit between their teeth and they pulverised Veszprém.

It was catharsis for an away defeat that Kiel felt they should never have suffered and it was a show of strength from Kiel to the pretenders to say that this is the level you need to replace us as top dogs.

Veszprém remain top of this group and deservedly so, but Kiel sent them home with their tails between their legs and licking their  wounds. One swallow does not make a summer and Kiel will keep their feet firmly on the ground, but Ortega will definitely have a long hard look at the fight in his team and ask some serious questions. They can still retain first place in the group but a win against the ever improving Atlético Madrid is now a must.

Our thoughts go out to Oneto who fell heavily during the game and was brought to hospital. We hope he'll be ok. To Palicka who had a baby boy before Christmas we say congrats. And to Gudjon Valur we say best wishes for safe arrival of his baby.

Today we saw the rebirth of the champions and the message they sent out was "Wir Sind Kiel" underestimate us at your peril.