THW Kiel Vs Montpellier HB handball Highlights Quarter finals EHF Champions League 2024

THW Kiel Vs Montpellier HB handball Highlights Quarterfinals EHF Champions League 2024
THW Kiel made history on Thursday night: “The chances to proceed are on five percent”, said coach Filip Jicha after the 30:39 defeat in the first leg of the quarter-final at Montpellier last week, but his side grabbed the chance and made the miracle come true: Goalkeeper Tomas Mrkva was the hero in the final stages, when Kiel scored a 7:1 run to beat the French side 31:21.
For the ninth time, Kiel have booked the ticket to the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4; for the first time since 2014 (Kiel and Flensburg even in the final), two German teams are part of the final tournament of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League,
Montpellier made too many mistakes in the last 15 minutes, lost their pace, while Mrkva rose like a phoenix. Eric Johansson (8), Harald Reinkind (7) and Nikola Bilyk (6) scored 21 of Kiel’s 31 goals. The elimination means, that after 30 years as coach of Montpellier, Patrice Canayer had his last international match.
QUARTER-FINAL, LEG 2:
THW Kiel (GER) vs Montpellier HB (FRA) 31:21 (17:12)
Kiel win 61:60 on aggregate
at the break, five of the nine goals were caught up by THW. Backed by the “white wall” of fans on the stands and three extraordinary back court shooters: Eric Johansson netted six times in 30 minutes, Harald Reinkind and Mykola Bilyk each four times. Even an early red card in minute 10 against Petter Øverby after a foul against Valentin Porte did not stop the hosts
Besides, the change of goalkeepers from Frenchman Samir Bellahcene to Tomas Mrkva had an impact on Kiel’s match, while on Montpellier’s side powerful line player Arthur Lenne caused big problems to the Kiel defence
In minute 35, at the score of 20:14, only four goals were missing, but then Kiel’s motor got stuck; Montpellier defended stronger and kept calm with long attacks, experienced Valentin Porte took the responsibility
However, as Montpellier missed three penalties and got nervous, Kiel got back on track despite some problems, when having one player more on court, pulled ahead to 27:20, causing the second timeout of Patrice Canayer
After missing several chances, finally Mykola Bilyk broke the spell, netting for the 30:21 in minute 56 - for the first time, the nine-goals deficit was levelled, and Eric Johansson made the Wunderino Arena explode, when virtually sending his side to Cologne with the 31:21 finishing a 7:1 run after the 24:20
In the last three minutes, Mrkva saved three shots and finished the match on 12 saves (41.38% saved shots)
The second biggest catch-up in history
It’s a fairy tale ending. It's been a long journey and a lot of great games in this arena, but this tops it all. I was really, really nervous before the game, I had a different feeling than usual. We knew we had to take it easy and win every six minutesby one goal. We did it!
Niclas Ekberg THW Kiel
There had always been huge comebacks in the quarter-finals of the Men’s EHF Champions League - and since Thursday night, THW Kiel’s 31:21 against Montpellier belongs to this list of sensations. One goal less, and a penalty shoot-out would have needed to decide,
But this win was not the biggest catch-up: In the 2011/12 season, Füchse Berlin turned a 23:34 at Ademar Leon to the ticket to Cologne winning 29:18 at home. The same old away goal rule was the reason for Barcelona’s berth to Cologne in the 2013/14 season: after a 31:38 at Rhein-Neckar Löwen, they won 31:24 at home.
And Montpellier were involved in the biggest “almost-through”: In the 2004/05 quarter-final, they had won 36:22 at home against Flensburg; the Germans levelled the result, scoring the 32:18, but Gregory Anquetil secured Montpellier’s with a direct free-throw with the final buzzer for the 32:19. Now, MHB was taught the painful lesson by Flensburg’s neighbours.
We've put our hearts in our hands today. We've showed our fans in this iconic arena, we've shown ourselves that we are a team that can fight until the end. I'm so proud of my players. Thanks to my players, but also thanks to our fans who believed in us. It was a magical night in Kiel, even though Skippy and Steffen couldn't play. But we've had this strong belief. Nevertheless, I feel for Patrice, a is a great idol for me as a coach. Congratulations to him for everything he has achieved in his unique career.
Filip Head coach Kiel
It was possible for us to lose today and still qualify for Cologne. Unfortunately, we didn't manage it. Kiel were physically and mentally stronger than us and handled the pressure better. Unfortunately, we went into today's game weakened because Diego Simonet was injured. We had problems finding solutions in attack. The defence was okay, we conceded 30 goals a week ago and 31 today. But scoring 21 goals in Kiel is not enough. We lacked the courage to switch play, we played with the handbrake on. And that's definitely a mistake in Kiel.
Patrice Head coach, Montpellier #handball #handballworld #sports #handboll