03.03.2022, 09:30
Reinkind’s buzzer-beater shocks Zagreb

GROUP A REVIEW: THW Kiel take second tight away victory in a row with last-gasp winner

History repeated for THW Kiel: Just like two weeks ago in their 31:30 win at Elverum, the German record champions took a victory with the last shot of the match.

On Thursday, Norwegian right back Harald Reinkind made Kiel happy with the winner’s strike for the crucial 28:27 victory at HC PPD Zagreb.

Kiel passed Szeged in the ranking to be in second position on 19 points. It was the last THW group match, as their final game against Meshkov Brest was postponed. Zagreb remain on eight points, equal with Elverum and one point below Vardar – but still can hope to qualify for the play-offs. 

GROUP A
HC PPD Zagreb (CRO) vs. THW Kiel (GER) 27:28 (15:12)  

• after a weak start and a 5:2 deficit, Zagreb easily turned the match around thanks to a clear improvement on both ends of the court to take a three-goal advance at 9:6 
• boosted by the goals of unstoppable left wing David Mandic (top scorer with eight goals) and youngster Filip Vistorop, Zagreb kept this distance until the half-time score of 15:12 and until 18:15 
• Kiel – without goalkeeper Niklas Landin – showed a great team performance from that moment on, with 10 of the 11 court players on the scoresheet and a 4:0 run to be back on track at 19:18, including five goals of Croat Domagoj Duvnjak at his former club 
• Zagreb tried everything to achieve those crucial points, and managed to level a two-goals-deficit –as Kiel missed many shots in the last minutes 
• Sandro Obradovic levelled the score at 27:27 with 40 seconds left, but after a THW time-out, Reinkind found the gap to score for the victory 

Zagreb have a high hurdle ahead for their final 

HC PPD Zagreb are the experts for real thrillers: the biggest gap in their last five EHF Champions League group matches were two goals – when they beaten by Pick Szeged 26:24 two weeks ago. Then, the Croatian side lost matches in succession by one goal: the 20:19 loss at Vardar Skopje and now here against Kiel. The year 2021 had ended with a 23:22 win over Vardar and a 24:23 defeat at Montpellier. Zagreb still can proceed to the play-offs – but have the extremely high hurdle at Aalborg ahead. The Danes have won their last six matches and yesterday booked the quarter-final ticket already.

TEXT: EHF / Björn Pazen