Handball Bundesliga team SG Flensburg-Handewitt also won the second derby against THW Kiel this season – and how! Thanks to a very strong performance, the team from the German-Danish border achieved a confident 33:26 (13:10) against the German record champions Kiel.
It was so clearly different to the first leg. At the beginning of September it was a thriller in Flensburg, which Emil Jakobsen only decided in the final second with 28:27 for the SG. On Saturday, the 110th state derby was already a quarter of an hour before the end of a similar drama. SG coach Nicolej Krickau’s team was simply too dominant – it had something of a performance about it. For the SG it was the biggest away win in Kiel in the Bundesliga. So far in the competition it was 29:25 (May 10, 2018).
“It was almost the perfect game in defense.”
— SG-Captain Johannes Golla
“We wanted to show the people of Kiel that it wouldn’t be fun against us today,” said the outstanding SG captain Johannes Golla, who was also the most successful player in the game with nine goals, in an interview with ARD. “Everything came together, we stuck to the plan.” Of course, Krickau was particularly pleased about the latter: “We had an experience here and are totally satisfied.”
While Flensburg preserved its chance of second place in the table and thus qualification for the Champions League thanks to this well-deserved success on matchday 26, this is gone for the THW. The “Zebras” can concentrate completely on the current season in the “premier class”. They are in the quarterfinals there. However, Saturday’s performance should not leave much hope for a triumph in the competition.
Goalkeeper Kevin Möller immediately provided support for the SG
Before the game, Krickau said in an interview with NDR that he saw “advantages in the goalkeeper position” for his team. This was definitely true for the first half – SG keeper Kevin Möller clearly outplayed his Kiel counterpart Tomas Mrkva. Patrick Wiencek failed because of the Dane, as did Nikola Bilyk, who started in the middle in the offensive, or Elias Ellefsen á Skipagötu and the Swedish right winger Niclas Ekberg, who will be leaving the THW in the summer after twelve years and will therefore be for him 39. Derby was also the last.
There were also two aluminum hits from Eric Johansson and a spin shot past the goal by Ekberg. In short: From the hosts’ point of view, there were clearly too many tickets, and with their own majority (time penalty for Johannes Golla, 14th), no goal was scored.
“I took the time out to calm you down a bit.”
— THW-Trainer Filip Jicha
So it was only too understandable that THW trainer Filip Jicha placed the green card on the timekeeper’s table a little later. At the time, his team was behind 4:7. “I took the time out to calm you down a bit. You’re playing well, but you’re not getting things done,” the Czech told his players.
However, this interruption did not lead to a break in Flensburg’s enthusiasm for playing. The SG put on a strong performance. Jim Gottfridsson skilfully pulled the strings in the playmaker position and was repeatedly supported as a source of ideas by the Danes Mads Mensah Larsen and Simon Pytlick. The latter initiated an outstanding goal with a strong high pass using a Kempa trick from an acute angle by left winger Emil Jakobsen (17th).
Shortly before the break, Flensburg leads by five goals
Kiel got within 7:8 thanks to Wiencek (19′), partly because Mrkva improved, but after that there was very little going on for the Kiel team against an excellent visitors’ defense led by captain Golla in the middle block. So the Krickau team pulled away again – even more clearly than before. Boris Zivkovic gave SG the lead for the first time with five goals in the 29th minute (13:8). But: Kiel reduced the score to 10:13 at the break thanks to Karl Wallinius and Steffen Weinhold.
SG goalkeeper Möller was only half satisfied: “We have to improve at the front. 13 goals – there is still a lot of potential. And at the back we have to continue like this. Three goals can be gone quickly.”
Kiel equalizes, but is quickly distanced again
How right he should be about that. After just 91 seconds played in the second round, the score was 13:13. Shortly thereafter, things got strange. After Kiel failed once again to Möller, there was no field player who wanted to swap back with Mrkva to occupy the space between the posts. Gottfridsson seemed a bit surprised, but casually lifted the ball into the empty goal – Flensburg led again 16:14 (35th). A little later there were three goals (19:16, 37th). then soon the five goals again with the 22:17. Jicha took another time out.
THW Kiel – SG Flensburg-Handewitt 26:33 (10:13)
Tore THW Kiel: Wiencek 4, Överby 4, Bilyk 3, Dahmke 3, E. Ellefsen a Skipagotu 3, Ekberg 2, M. Landin 2/1, Duvnjak 1, Johansson 1, Reinkind 1, Wallinius 1, Weinhold 1
Goals SG Flensburg-Handewitt: Golla 9, Gottfridsson 5, J. Hansen 5, Pytlick 4, Zivkovic 4, Larsen 2, EM Jakobsen 1, Jörgensen 1, LK Möller 1, Pedersen 1
Viewers: 10,285 (sold out)
Penalty minutes: 10 / 6
But: Flensburg remained extremely focused and exuded great self-confidence. Golla, who cleaned up at the back and scored at the front, gave the team their first six-goal lead with two goals in quick succession, making it 25:19. Pytlick’s great goal with a forearm throw to make it 27:20 (48th) was already a preliminary decision.
When the score was 21:29 (50th), Jicha took another time out to appeal to his team. “We have to take action, it’s about our honor, men,” he said. But things didn’t get much better because Flensburg simply didn’t allow anything. In the end it was the SG’s biggest Bundesliga away win in Kiel ever.
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Schleswig-Holstein Magazine | Mar 23, 2024 | 19:30 o’clock
