Szeged seem a harder nut to crack for Kiel

MOL-Pick Szeged are presented a chance to revenge their elimination from last year when THW Kiel proved too strong for the Hungarian runners-up. However, the sense in Szeged is that this year the margin is smaller and Pick have a good chance to make it to the next round.

MOL-Pick Szeged (HUN) vs THW Kiel (GER)
Sunday 20 March, 18.30 hrs local time live on ehfTV

The tide has changed since these two European heavyweights locked horns in the VELUX EHF Champions League quarter-final a little less than a year ago. Kiel with their outstanding starting lineup and talent-packed squad were heavy favourites against the Hungarian outfit,, although Szeged ousted Kiel’s domestic rival Rhein-Neckar Löwen in the previous round.

Kiel still have an outstanding starting line-up but their squad is no longer as frightening as it used to be.

Having lost Aron Palmarsson, Filip Jicha and Rasmus Lauge it still might not have been enough to rule the German powerhouse out of Cologne, but the fact that Rene Toft Hansen, Patrick Wiencek, Steffen Weinhold and Christian Dissinger have all been out injured at some point of the season has not helped.

MOL-Pick Szeged have a fair share of injury setbacks themselves. Zsolt Balogh and Niko Mindegía’s absence were particularly painful, but the Hungarian runners-up remained composed especially at home, where only Barcelona and Vardar (who were extremely lucky to get away with a win) left with two points.

Among the elite teams that left Szeged empty handed are Kiel, who managed to turn the duel around at home last year. In the wake of their two-goal defeat away the German team made use of the faltering away form of Szeged and ousted Juan Carlos Pastor’s team by a six-goal margin on aggregate. But as said before, a lot has changed since then.

Bombac the focal point

When asked about the opponent, Alfred Gislason’s assessment could not be more to the point: "Everything revolves around Dean Bombac in attack. The Slovenian is enjoying a great season.”

Bombac, who sits proudly on third place in the goalscorers’ chart, is one of the many players who will leave Szeged after the season, but the Slovenian playmaker is dedicated to make the most of his last season in Hungary. "Those who aim for the top have to beat everyboday," Bombac told ehfCL.com.

Gislason also pointed out that Szeged are by no means a one-man team. THW Kiel's captain Domagoj Duvnjak also acknowledged that they play host to an elite team. "We are facing a very strong team so I hope our fans will fill the arena to help us beat Szeged," the Croat told on his club’s website.

However, it is an unusual sight to see Kiel finish fourth in a group. Even more peculiar to the Zebras to suffer heavy defeats in Zagreb and Flensburg and it is now safe to say that the optimism of Szeged’s local hero, Ferenc Ilyés is well-founded.

"I believe this season we will have a better chance against Kiel than last year," said Ilyés in the wake of their defeat at Kielce, where Szeged put up their best away performance of the season.

"I regret that we lost in Kielce but the way we performed in the arena of such a great team should give us confidence and self-belief against Kiel," claimed Juan Carlos Pastor.

Szeged and Kiel are the last to start but the first to finish their Last 16 clash as the teams play the home and away matches within three days starting on 20 March in the Újszegedi Arena.

Watch the Expert Hangout - Kiel vs Szeged discussion and the worst injury crisis since Moses from 25:45 min.