More than 5,000 fans in a sold-out arena went crazy as Aalborg Håndbold were finally confirmed winners over THW Kiel in the Match of the Week of the EHF Champions League Men 2021/22 on Wednesday.
When Player of the Match Nikolaj Laesø scored his ninth goal to wrap up a 35:33 win at the final buzzer, the hosts had completed their first victory against in eight matches against Kiel.
After two straight defeats at Szeged and Kiel, the 2021 Champions League finalists are back on track and reduced the gap to Kiel to only one point in the table.
GROUP A:
MOTW: Aalborg Håndbold (DEN) vs THW Kiel (GER) 35:33 (17:16)
- after Kiel had been dominant in the first half of last week's match which they won 31:28, the first half of the reverse match played out in a similar fashion
- the lead changed four times until 10:10 - and the biggest gap before the break was three goals after Aalborg’s treble strike for the 16:13
- the hosts relied on the full firepower of their backcourt players such as Lukas Sandell, Nikolaj Laesø and Felix Claar, who scored 10 of 17 goals. Kiel profited from their mastermind Miha Zarabec
- when the unstoppable Laesø scored his eighth goal, Aalborg were ahead by four goals for the first time at 29:25 and maintained that gap until 33:29
- backed by incredible saves of goalkeeper Niklas Landin, Kiel made a brilliant comeback and were close to another draw, when Patrick Wiencek hit the net for 34:33 17 seconds before the end
- after a final time-out from coach Stefan Madsen, time was ticking for Aalborg - and Laesø crowned himself the king of Aalborg
- while former Aalborg player Sander Sagosen scored four goals for Kiel, ex-THW playmaker Aron Palmarsson could not play for Aalborg
A historic night at Aalborg
THW Kiel had taken six victories and one draw in official matches against Aalborg Håndbold - now this run of success has come to an end. Even worse for Kiel, it was THW’s first defeat in a match in Denmark after 12 victories and three draws. For Aalborg it was only the seventh win against a German team in 22 international matches.
We are really happy to beat Kiel. It is one of the best teams in the world. And to do that in front of our own crowd is really important for us after a not so good week last week. We are really really happy.
