Kiel remain in the race for third place
THW Kiel have grabbed their chance to finish the group phase on the third position. On Tuesday night, the defending champions had a harder nut to crack than expected, but finally beat RK Celje 33:29 on home ground. Before their last group match on Thursday against Zagreb, they are equal with Aalborg and Motor now.
GROUP B:
THW Kiel (GER) vs. RK Celje Pivovarna Laško (SLO) 33:29 (19:15)
- It was Kiel’s third straight victory on home ground after beating Aalborg and Motor - before, THW had not won the first three home matches.
- Kiel took their sixth victory of this season and have 14 points on their account now. Celje had already been confirmed sixth ranked before this match and before their final duel with Aalborg on Thursday.
- At 10:5 in minute 16, Kiel seemed to have full control on the match, but Celje then improved on both ends of the court.
- When they were ahead 30:24, the deal seemed to be sealed for Kiel, but Celje managed to comeback to 29:31 again, before Sander Sagosen and Niclas Ekberg scored the last goals.
- Celje’s Miljan Vujovic won the goalkeeper’s duel with 13 saves against Kiel’s Dario Quenstedt (six saves).
Zarabec shines against his former club
From 2014 until 2017, Miha Zarabec had played for RK Celje, then the centre back joined THW Kiel after winning the bronze medal at the 2017 World Championship with Slovenia. Zarabec is the smallest player in the THW squad - but had a big impact on winning the EHF Cup in 2019 and the Champions League in 2020. Despite the transfer of Sander Sagosen to Kiel, he still is a cornerstone of the attack - and scored four goals on Tuesday against Celje.
It was a hard match. My guys were pretty tired, but we managed it. I’m proud of my players; this rhythm isn’t easy so I had to bring all of my players except Duvnjak and Landin into the game. Our three- to four-goal lead in the first half was the key to success today. I’m happy that we won the match.
