Tagged: thw kiel
Mayan prophecy invoked: THW Kiel don’t win
My German isn’t great but what this page says is: “Truly we have reached the end of days. Say farewell to those you love, make peace with those with whom you have fought and get your soul in order with whichever deity you pray to. Kiel lost. And not only did they lose but they lost at home. And not only did they lose at home but they lost following a half time lead.”
Like I say, my German isn’t great but I’m sure that’s what they’re saying. It ended THW Kiel 25:29 MT Melsungen. Michael Allendorf top-scored for the visitors who rise to 6th; Kiel fall to 2nd.
EHF Champions League on UK TV today
If you’re a fan of Kiel or Atletico then you’re in luck today because if you’ve got two chances to see your boys on British TV.
The lovely folks at Premier Sports will be showing today’s EHF Champions League group match in full at 4.15pm UK (Sky Channel 428) whereas British Eurosport 2 (Sky 411) will be showing highlights at 11.30pm.
British Eurosport 2 is also your home for the Euro 2012 Daily Show. Throughout the tournament at midnight and 5.45am they will be showing an EHF-produced review of the day’s events. No live coverage that I can see – for that you’ll need to head over to the EHF Euro YouTube channel.
For the first time in 41 matches, Kiel don’t win …
The zebras of THW Kiel will just have to make do with being 41 matches unbeaten in the Bundesliga because after 40 consecutive wins they were held to a draw.
The bright yellow Foxes of Fuechse Berlin did it the hard way by coming from behind but they held on at the death for a 26:26 tie that was celebrated as if the very title itself had come to the German capital. It was for the most part a cagey match and as late as the 55th minute Kiel held a four goal advantage but Berlin suddenly found Omeyer passable whereas Kiel did some very un-Kiel-esque stumbling attacks.
The result puts Fuechse at the top of the table on ten points after 6 matches (this was their second draw of the campaign) with Kiel three points back but with two games in hand owing to their wanderings in the IHF Super Globe as the Bundesliga was starting.
Kiel wins German Super Cup
THW Kiel got their season off to a winning start with a 29:26 (14:14) victory over fellow northerners SG Flensburg-Handewitt in the DKB Super Cup.
It was a pretty even match, if a little scrappy in parts, but Kiel established a three-goal cushion midway through the second half that Flensburg could not overcome. The boys in Hummel had a chance at 27:26 with 2 minutes left but missed – and an immediate fast-break killed the game. A further Kiel goal right at the end gave the impression of total domination that was not really reflective of the match.
If you’re any good at German you might like to have a look here to read all about it.
Hansen to Paris; Ekberg to Kiel
The messy end of AG København* saw a whole bunch of top handball players have no home to go to. Two of the bigger names have now found new homes.
Mikkel Hansen (left) who previously turned out for FC Barcelona before heading north to Copenhagen will now be plying his trade with Paris (Saint Germain). This is the same Paris who not only will not be taking part in the EHF Champions League (Hansen was the competition’s top scorer in 2012) this year but actually finished 12th out of 14 in the Ligue National. I’m assuming the arrival of Hansen signals some new investment in the club although whether they will be challenging the domestic dominance of Montepellier who have taken 12 out of the last 15 titles remains to be seen.
No challenges to domestic dominance though for the reported new home of Niclas Ekberg. The Swedish Olympic silver medalist looks set to join Kiel (link) who last year managed a meagre haul of league, cup and European titles. The arrival of Ekberg no doubt shortens still further their odds of retaking the Bundesliga. When I last checked they were 2/11 for the title.
(* For the unitiated, AG København were a short-lived ‘super team’ put together and financed by Jesper Nielsen. They won the Danish League and Cup, played before crowds of 20,000 in the EHF Champions League but fell short of the European title, eventually placing 3rd. They entered administration and disbanded in July.)
German Super Cup – and you can watch it in Britain
Today’s the start of the German season with the DHB Super Cup between the all-conquering THW Kiel and and the not-so-all-conquering SG Flensburg-Handewitt. I’m going to go out on no limbs at all and predict a comfortable win for ‘the zebras’ as google translate tells me Kiel are nicknamed. Kiel haven’t had the Super Cup all their own way in recent years, losing to HSV Hamburg a couple of times, but I’m going to back the favourite on this and mark it down as the first trophy of the new season for THW.
If you want to watch legally you can via the streaming service at Bet365. 
You don’t need to gamble to sign up but you do need to have a positive balance on your account (I think you can set this up for £1). Leave it untouched and you can watch whatever else Bet365 shows – last year they covered 3-4 matches from the Bundesliga and Asobal (Spanish League) every week in addition to live streaming the 2011 Women’s World Championship from Brazil and Great Britain’s qualifying match in Austria.
The match is down to start at 7.15pm (BST) and Bet365 is here. You sign up for an account in the right-hand corner.
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