Kiel's defence sets the tone: THW remain unbeaten at home

The key lay in the interplay between defence and goalkeeper. Hamburg managed just two goals from sixteen attempts from the nine-metre line, with Kiel blocking ten of those shots. Accordingly, the visitors' shooting percentage remained at 45 per cent, while THW converted 63 per cent of their attempts and capitalised on all four fast breaks. Rune Dahmke summed up the foundation of the victory: I think both halves incredibly strong defence from us, with a great goalkeeper.

Then there was the error count: nine technical errors on Kiel's side compared to 22 from the visitors, who thus produced more errors than goals. Hendrik Pekeler dominated Kiel's defensive centre and also contributed in attack with one goal and one assist, whilst Domen Makuc was the hosts' most prominent nine-metre player with four goals and two assists. For Hamburg, Frederik Bo Andersen with five goals and pivot Martin Hovde with four kept the match open for a long time.

For THW it is another victory at the MERKUR OSTSEEHALLE, where Børge Lund's side remain unbeaten this season. Hamburg, meanwhile, are still waiting for their first point away from home, and that under difficult circumstances: captain Elias Kofler was ruled out at short notice and was unable to take part.

Level for long spells, then Kiel pull away

Hamburg switched early to seven against six with two pivots and consistently sought width. It worked: after Kiel's 3:1 lead, the visitors turned the match around and were ahead for a long period. At 6:7, Lund called his first timeout after five minutes without a Kiel goal, and Makuc equalised to make it 7:7. The pattern continued until the break: Hamburg took the lead, Kiel drew level in response. At half-time it stood at 11:11, and Pekeler identified the hosts' problem: The defence is good, but we're not making enough of it.

That is exactly what changed after the restart. Kiel remained at the same level defensively but cut out the errors in attack and scored 15 goals in the second half, Hamburg just eight. Between 11:11 and 21:15 after 44 minutes, THW pulled away from their opponents, repeatedly through turnovers and the direct route forward. In the 42nd minute, Kiel blocked three shots in succession within around 20 seconds, Hamburg found scarcely any solutions in this phase and called a timeout at 17:13.

Dominik Axmann explained the turning point from the visitors' perspective: The problem is that at the start of the second half we miss two, three open chances and then lose a bit of confidence. We lost our heads a bit, and then THW punished that, of course. He identified the technical errors as the main issue. At Kiel the picture was reversed after the break, as Dahmke emphasised: Second half defence just as strong, but we cut out the errors, and then we got going really well.

At 24:16 the match was decided, Hamburg reduced the deficit to 24:19 through two seven-metre throws, before Makuc and Domagoj Duvnjak established the final score of 26:19. In the visitors' goal, substitute Norwin Pein collected three saves. After the match, Dahmke highlighted the development of 19-year-old Rasmus Ankermann, who was primarily tested defensively: At that age, I've very, very rarely seen such a good defensive player in one-on-one situations.

THW Kiel continue as soon as Thursday, 15 October, with their next home match against Rhein-Neckar Löwen. Handball Club Hamburg face SG BBM Bietigheim on Saturday, 17 October, where important points are at stake for both sides.

Match statistics