13.10.2021, 08:45
Duvnjak steers Kiel to victory against former club

GROUP A REVIEW: Domagoj Duvnjak guided Kiel to their third win of the group phase as Zagreb were no match for the German champions

After THW Kiel claimed an easy 36:28 win against HC PPD Zagreb on Wednesday night in group A of the EHF Champions League Men, the Croatian side have not won an EHF Champions League match for exactly 600 days.

It was Zagreb's 19th defeat in their last 20 Champions League matches since they beat Aalborg 31:30 on 22 February 2020. On the other hand, Kiel's ninth victory in 17 matches against Zagreb put them back on track after their clear defeat at Montpellier.

GROUP A
THW Kiel (GER) vs HC PPD Zagreb (CRO) 36:28 (18:15)

• Kiel are now on six points from four matches, while Zagreb’s only point remains the draw against Elverum in round 3
• Zagreb started in express mode, took a 3:1 lead and were at an almost equal level until Kiel led 15:14
• both sides were weak in defence and goalkeeping before the break, but the hosts extended their advantage to three goals at half-time
• Kiel pulled ahead to 23:18, and even a timeout from coach Ivica Obrvan in the 36th minute could not prevent Kiel from taking a 27:19 lead in the 41st minute
• Domagoj Duvnjak was one of Kiel’s match winners against his former club, netting seven goals, one fewer than Harald Reinkind. Ivan Cupic and Filip Vistorop topped Zagreb’s scorer list with six strikes each

Will Sander Sagosen return to Norway?

THW Kiel are trying hard to extend the contract of mastermind Sander Sagosen as early as possible. Sagosen arrived in 2020, and his current contract expires in 2023.

The four-time EHF Champions League winners are already in negotiations with the EHF EURO 2020 top scorer. But THW manager Viktor Szilagyi confirmed that Sagosen has got a very special offer from his home club Kolstad IL, and the owners want to build the club around the best Norwegian centre back.

TEXT: EHF / Björn Pazen