REVIEW: Kielce end Magdeburg's winning streak

QUARTER-FINAL, LEG 1:

MOTW: Industria Kielce (POL) vs SC Magdeburg (GER) 27:26 (14:13)

• After only ten minutes, when Kielce led 4:1, Dylan Nahi received a direct red card after referees reviewed his foul against Gisli Kristjansson.
• With Andy Wolff playing a strong initial period, the hosts were ahead 11:8, with Alex Dujshebaev already on four goals at that point.
• The game was constantly on the edge, marked by the impressive Kielce defence, which managed to stop SCM, as the defending champions lacked ideas to break through this wall.
• It took 53 minutes of the game until Gisli Kristjansson scored for Magdeburg's first lead at 23:22 – backed by the saves of goalkeeper Sergey Hernandez and the goals of Felix Claar in that period.
• Kielce answered with a 3:0 run, but nothing was decided in crunch time – Magdeburg levelled the result again at 26:26, before Igor Karacic crowned his strong performance with his seventh goal and Kielce's winning strike.
• After Kielce's youngster Michal Olejniczak accidentally crashed with Felix Claar towards the end of the game he had to be carried from the court and his presence in the second leg is questionable.

Kielce's magic defence was the key

How can you stop the versatile attack of SC Magdeburg? Kielce's coach Talant Dujshebaev found the perfect solution. The very mobile and aggressive 5:1 defence managed to prevent the famous SCM breakthroughs of players such as Gisli Kristjansson, Omar Ingi Magnusson, or Felix Claar. Magdeburg were constantly close to passive play, as they did not find the gaps, and their scoring rate was far below their regular level. Directed by brilliant Artsem Karalek, the Kielce defence was the key in this low-scoring encounter. Even when goalkeeper Andreas Wolff did not have a perfect match, Kielce managed to keep SCM below the 30-goal line.

Photos © 2024 Patryk Ptak Photography