THW Kiel got off to a lightning start in the northern derby against Flensburg and seemed to be able to break the negative streak against their big rivals. Then the guests changed their defense and turned the game around.
As early as the 43rd minute, the few hundred Flensburg fans among the 10,285 spectators in the Kiel Arena spoke loudly. “Hell North rules here,” it sounded through the circle. In the end the celebration was skipped. Handball Bundesliga team SG Flensburg-Handewitt won the 111th Schleswig-Holstein derby at THW Kiel with 37:33 (17:17). For the guests it was the third win in a row and the 41st success ever in the “Nord-Clasico”.
THW coach Filip Jicha politely congratulated his colleague Nicolej Krickau on a “deserved” derby victory. The Czech identified the poor record in one-on-one duels as one of the reasons for the defeat. Krickau was “extremely proud of the performance and the result”.
The hosts started strong. When right winger Lukas Zerbe made it 4-1 (4th minute) with his third goal, it got really loud in the arena. A little later Emil Madsen increased the score to 8:2 (9th). “We then gave the game away little by little,” said Kiel’s Nikola Bylik, looking for an explanation: “We didn’t find any solutions against the changed SG defense.”
Flensburg more ripped off than Kiel
With his goal to make it 3:8 (10th), Lasse Möller ended almost six goalless minutes in Flensburg. In the period that followed, the SG defense and goalkeeper Kevin Möller improved, who equalized with a double save against Eric Johansson and Petter Överby. Kay Smits scored the goal to make it 13:13 (25th) with a throw into Kiel’s empty goal.
The guests also determined the start of the second half. Simon Pytlick, who had barely appeared before, increased the score to 20:18 (34th) for Flensburg. Krickau had previously surprised everyone by changing the goalkeeper from Kevin Möller to Benjamin Buric: “We have two top goalkeepers and we are convinced by them,” said the Dane after the game.
The Kiel fans whistled loudly when THW got three more goals into the empty goal because coach Filip Jicha had used a seventh field player instead of the goalkeeper. The Flensburg team pulled away to make it 31:25 (49th). All Kiel’s efforts on offense and defense were in vain. “We lacked an overview,” Jicha said angrily afterwards. Flensburg routinely extended their lead over time and celebrated their derby victory.
“It wasn’t easy to get into the game after a chaotic start,” said eight-time goalscorer Lasse Möller, who was “amazingly proud” of himself and his teammates after the game. But both teams don’t have much time to celebrate or get angry. The next games in the European League are scheduled for Tuesday. The SG plays at MRK Sesvete in Croatia (6.45 p.m./Dyn), the THW at BM Torrelavega in Spain (8.45 p.m./Dyn).
lwö/dpa
