SC Magdeburg has achieved an important away victory in the fight for the German handball championship. The table leader prevailed with 33:26 (15:13) over defending champion THW Kiel, who is now eight points behind in fifth place. The best throwers of the top game were Tim Hornke with nine goals for the SCM and Niclas Ekberg with seven goals for the THW.
“We dominated a tough away game from the start,” said Hornke, delighted with the success in front of the 10,285 spectators in the sold-out Kiel Arena on the Dyn streaming service.
The guest from Saxony-Anhalt took command halfway through the first half. With a 6:0 run, the SCM moved from 4:5 (9th minute) to 10:5 (16th). Even a temporary break by THW trainer Filip Jicha did not bring any improvement. Circular Oscar Bergendahl increased to 14:7 (23rd) for Magdeburg.
Keeper Mrkva brings THW back into the game
With a seven-meter save against Omar Ingi Magnusson, THW keeper Tomas Mrkva brought his team back into the game. From the 28th minute onwards, the hosts had to make do without their captain Domagoj Duvnjak. The referees showed the Croatian a red card after a foul on Janus Dadi Smarason without first consulting the video images. Nevertheless, Kiel managed to score two goals by the break.
Magdeburg also got off to a better start in the second half and extended their lead again to 18:13 (35th). The hosts looked for a playful solution with Elias Ellefsen á Skipagötu, but did not manage to reduce the deficit significantly. Since September 2017, THW Kiel has been waiting for a home win against Magdeburg, which has now been unbeaten in 28 competitive games.
