Eleven goals from Glandorf not enough for Flensburg

Rock-solid defence and masterful tactics from coach Talant Dujshebaev created a strong chance for KS Vive Tauron Kielce to make their third appearance, following on from 2013 and 2015, at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne. The Polish champions earned a deserved 28:28 draw at SG Flensburg-Handewitt despite eleven goals from Holger Glandorf.

The second-leg quarter-final to be played on Wednesday will determine whether it is the 2014 Champions League winners or Kielce that make it to Cologne.

“We are happy with this draw, as we still have room for improvement in our home match. Mental strength was our advantage today, as we kept patient and calm throughout the match. Still, we can expect another exciting game on Wednesday,” said Kielce’s German international Tobias Reichmann.

Glandorf was also fairly happy with the result: “We can be quite satisfied with this draw against one of Europe’s best teams. We were on eye level for 60 minutes but unfortunately did not manage to score one more goal than Kielce.”

Flensburg coach Ljubomir Vranjes started his preparations for the re-match right after the first duel finished: “I know exactly what we need to do now. A draw is not what we had hoped for, but we are guilty for the result as we had so many problems with their defence.”

VELUX EHF Champions League Quarter-final, First Leg
SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER) vs KS Vive Tauron Kielce (POL) 28:28 (13:14)

From the first minute Kielce’s defence was perfectly instructed by Dujshebaev, and the Polish champions adapted to all of Vranje’s tactical measures in attack.

The lead changed constantly before the break, as Flensburg were initially more efficient with their counter attacks and Kielce were cold as ice from the penalty line. Both goalkeepers – Mattias Andersson (Flensburg) and Slawomir Szmal (Kielce) – made their mark on the attack-oriented game with spectacular saves.

Both sides caused their opponents to make more mistakes than usual in attack, but it was mainly Kielce that put enormous pressure on Flensburg’s strikers. At the other end of the court, the hosts had a difficult task in controlling Spanish line player Julen Aguinagalde.

As the 2:0 score line in favour of the hosts was the only two-goal difference before the break, the near-level half-time score was an accurate reflection of the first 30 minutes.

Still, Flensburg had to work much harder for every goal while Kielce netted for 17:16 despite having two players less on the court. Any thought that the tactical focus of the away team would stop as time wore on was incorrect – despite regular rotation from the Polish team’s bench the performance level remained the same.

But even with their strong performance Kielce could not cast off their opponents and, boosted by 6,000 fans, Flensburg took the lead again in the 40th minute at 20:19.  

At that point the Polish champions began to lack efficiency in attack as Flensburg’s defence stood firmer, and suddenly the first three-goal difference was created at 23:20 for the German team. The home side’s joy did not last long however, as Reichmann’s double strike brought Kielce back.

A key part of Flensburg’s upswing was Glandorf. After a slow first period, the left-handed goal machine re-started his engine following the break, scoring his 10th for 24:22.

But even this extraordinary series did not help Flensburg. Kielce equalised again and again, pushing SG in defence in a combative fight for every centimetre.

“This match was a real battle, extremely physical. And after our performance after the break, we can be happy with this draw,” Dujshebaev said.

Though ‘Magic Mattias’ Andersson remained on fire and ultimately won the goalkeeper duel against Szmal and Marin Sego, his teammates could not cut the Gordian Knot in Kielce’s defence.

With 40 seconds left and 28:28 on the score board, Dujshebaev called his players for the final time-out, knowing that their base for the second leg would be brilliant. His team failed to score again, but when Glandorf’s final goal was not allowed, the draw was essentially a victory for Kielce.