Füchse Berlin triumph in the Supercup against THW Kiel after an exciting final!

Füchse Berlin triumph in the Supercup against THW Kiel after an exciting final!

Yesterday evening in Munich the handball world was excited about the duel between THW Kiel and Füchse Berlin in the Supercup. The kick-off was at 6 p.m. when the record champions Kiel and the defending champions from Berlin faced each other. As cup winners, THW Kiel had something to make up for after the last championship was disappointing. Coach Filip Jicha warned his team before the game that a world-class performance would be required to defeat their opponents. The Füchse Berlin were considered the favorites, led by their world handball player Mathias Gidsel, who assured in advance that his goal was to win all the titles. “We are better than last year,” he declared belligerently before the game – in keeping with the tradition of the strong Berliners, who won the Supercup against SC Magdeburg last year.

In a thrilling match that would ultimately go down in history, neither team was able to pull away beyond the regular 60 minutes. After a balanced start, the score was 19:14 for Berlin at halftime. Kiel's goalkeeper Andreas Wolff shone with several brilliant saves, but the Füchse pulled away with a dominant phase between the 14th and 26th minutes, while the Kiel team made many mistakes. At the end of regular time the score was 31:31 and the decision had to be made on a seven-meter throw. In front of 10,298 spectators in Munich, the pressure proved to be enormous.

A dramatic ending

The players' nerves were on edge when the exciting seven-meter throw began. The class of Dejan Milosavljev, the Füchse goalkeeper, was evident here, as he saved some important shots from Kiel. Mathias Gidsel even failed because of Wolff, but in the end it was Lasse Ludwig who saved the decisive seven-meter penalty and thus secured the victory for Füchse Berlin. Kiel missed the chance to win their 14th Supercup title in their 25th participation.

The top scorer of the game was Gidsel with eight goals, which once again underlined his key role in the game. THW Kiel managed to come back in the second half with a strong 4-0 run and even take the lead with 27:24. But the Berliners remained calm, turned the game around in the final phase and finally secured the second Supercup title in their club history with a 3-2 win in the seven-meter throw.

A look into the future

THW Kiel continues this week as the Bundesliga season starts next Thursday against HC Erlangen. Important players such as Hendrik Pekeler and Gonzalo Perez de Vargas are missing due to injuries. Lukas Laube was brought in as a short-term replacement to fill the gap and support the team. After yesterday's defeat, we will have to hope for a positive reaction in the league.

An exciting handball year could await us, and with the Supercup the first exciting showdown is already history. What now lies ahead at THW Kiel is the task of recovering from the setback and shaping the coming season with a breath of fresh air.

For more information on this exciting game and subsequent developments, check out NDR, ZDF and Sports show.