Bjerringbro secure final Last 16 spot while PSG teach THW a lesson

Goals, goals, goals – fans at Silkeborg and Paris saw 135 goals in the final two matches of VELUX EHF Champions League Group A. Thanks to a 37:32 victory against Schaffhausen, Bjerringbro secured the final Last 16 spot, while PSG demolished Kiel 42:24 in a match only for the honour.

PSG’s second position and a Last 16 confrontation with Nantes, as well as Kiel’s fifth place and Last 16 matches against Rhein-Neckar Löwen had already been confirmed before those matches. BSV will face Szeged in the race for the quarter-finals.

• Knudsen, Espersen and Skube all scored seven times for BSV
• Kadetten centre back Gabor Csaszar scores twice to lead the top scorer ranking with 84 goals
• Ranked second after his seven goals against Kiel is PSG left wing Uwe Gensheimer (83)
• Paris keep their unbeaten record on home ground with their seventh group phase win
• It was the biggest ever Champions League defeat for THW Kiel after the 37:27 defeat against Flensburg last season

GROUP A:

Bjerringbro-Silkeborg (DEN) vs Kadetten Schaffhausen (SUI) 37:32 (18:14)

They made their dream come true after Barcelona had opened the door for Bjerringbro-Silkeborg on Saturday. After the Catalan team’s win over Orlen Wisla Plock, the Danish champions knew that they got their second ever Last 16 ticket by beating Kadetten Schaffhausen the following day.

And they marched through the gate on Sunday. Their fourth group phase victory left them level in points with Plock, but BSV had won the direct encounter by aggregate goals. So they will face Pick Szeged in the Last 16.

Both sides had clearly set their focus on attack on Sunday. After a balanced start (5:4), BSV stormed ahead to 11:6 after only 16 minutes. Though Kadetten improved their efficiency in attack, they reduced the deficit to only four goals at the break.

Their regular goal machine Gabor Csaszar did not score as often as usually, and he ended on just two goals from seven attempts.

Backed by strong left wing Manuel Liniger and right back Dimitrij Küttel, Schaffhausen had their strongest period right after the break.

BSV stopped the downswing after 26:24 by forging ahead to a pre-decisive 31:26 in minute 51. The Swiss resistance was broken, enabling BSV to a lead as big as seven goals 35:28 – and the rest was party.

Post-match statements

Peter Bredsdorff-Larsen, Bjerringbro-Silkeborg coach: „I am very happy with our performance in the VELUX EHF Champions League. It have been tremendous six mounts for the players, for the team, for the club and for our sponsors. We are very happy and proud.“

Sebastian Skube, Bjerringbro-Silkeborg centre back: „Pick Szeged have a better team, especially because they have 16 players who can play at a high level. They also have the advantage of playing the last game at home.“

Peter Kukucka, Kadetten Schaffhausen coach: „We played wrong in the first 15 minutes. After 20 minutes, we started playing what we want but that was not enough. In the second half, we started very well but after that we made some mistakes and Bjerringbro-Silkeborg played better.“

Dimitrij Küttel, Kadetten Schaffhausen right back: „It has been fantastic to play against all the big clubs. We saw what it takes to reach that level and it has been a nice experience but we should have won three or four more points.“

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) vs THW Kiel (GER) 42:24 (22:10)

Both sides knew their fates – having Last 16 matches against domestic rivals. Both sides knew their ranking positions could not change regardless the result. Still, both sides showed a completely different attitude.

While from the first second on, PSG was highly motivated to keep their clean record on home ground and to take their 12th win in their 14th match, THW Kiel lacked about everything.

Being 10:5 ahead easy and early spirited PSG to set a great result – and to make former THW coach Noka Serdarusic extremely happy. After 25 minutes, Paris were ahead by a double-figure difference for the first time (18:8) and they extended the gap to 12 goals at the break.

However, their hunger had not yet been stilled. Former THW left back Daniel Narcisse was the only PSG court player who did not score, while THW looked like playing without any defence, inviting Paris to counter attack goals because of an very high number of mistakes.

The defeat by 18 goals - the biggest gap had been 19 - was more than a lesson for Kiel. Best scorers were Uwe Gensheimer and Nikola Karabatic with seven goals each for Paris, while Marko Vujin had five for Kiel.

Post-match statements

Alfred Gislason, THW Kiel coach: "It was very obvious that we did not come with the right attitude into this game. We did not get into our game. We lost the ball too easily in our attack. And in defence, we were not moving and not fighting enough to have a chance against Paris."

Domagoj Duvnjak, THW Kiel centre back: "It was not our game. We made a lot of technical mistakes in the first half and 13 goals from fast breaks is too much. We just have to forget this game and be ready for the quarter-final against Rhein-Neckar Löwen."

Noka Serdarusic, Paris SG coach: "It was a match with nothing at stake. But you never go into a match to lose it. We went into it very attacking and we didn’t make many mistakes. After half-time I had the idea that Kiel had given up."

Dylan Garain, Paris SG left back: "It was a very physical game from the beginning."