This time there were no tears at Timo Kastening. The national player of the MT Melsungen was empty in the middle of the 19 750 enthusiastic spectators in the sold-out Cologne Lanxess Arena and observed how the Kiel players passed the DHB Cup further. After the exhausting 32:31 semi-final victory, the THW had swung itself up for further energy performance after extra time against the Rhein-Neckar Löwen and conquered Melsungen in a high-class final with 28:23.
In 2021, the Hesse had already lost the final against Lemgo, not only Kastening cried bitter tears at the time. In the previous year, Magdeburg was too clearly superior, the Melsungers now have to wait for the first title of their club history, but in contrast to the Kielers, are still promising in the championship race.
In an intensive game in which two top teams mobilized the last forces, the defensive rows and two excellently laid goalkeepers shaped the first 30 minutes. Both Kiel’s national goalkeeper Andreas Wolff and the Montenegrin selection player Nebojsa Simic parried brilliantly on the other side. At the THW, Patrick Wiencek, who will end his career after the season, and Hendrik Pekeler, as well as in the best national team times in the middle block. However, the defensive around the Hungarian defensive chief Adrian Sipos and the Latvian 2.16-meter giant Daini’s Kristopans were in no way inferior to Melsungen, the 10: 9 break advantage of the Kiel was correspondingly thin.
Thanks to an enormous will, the Kielers brought the lead to the finish line
Even after the change, the pace remained high, it was a long exchange of blows at eye level until the Kielers could settle something ten minutes before the end with three goals in a row. They no longer took this lead and then deservedly brought the triumph to the finish. For the successful THW, which defines itself as a top dog in German handball, the cup victory now saves the season without a winning cup after a season.
The 50th cup decision was representative of the entire season and was aptly referred to by Kastening at the ARD microphone as a “wear and tear”. Because of the Olympic Games in the previous year, the summer break for the top players failed, in January there was a World Cup, the national players have been practically in constant use for two years. The rows are cleared, Melsungen had to do without the important goal scorers Aaron Mensing, Kiel lacked two key players in Nikola Bilek and Harald Reinkind. Nevertheless, the aged forces of the Northern Lights around Wiencek and playmaker Domagoj Duvnjak, both 36, gave themselves up to top performance, even the outstanding Wolff, with 33 in the high phase of his work, described himself radiantly as the “old man”.
Already on Saturday, a top performance was needed to win the semi-finals against the Rhein-Neckar Löwen after extra time after the Mannheimers dominated the first half. Ivan Martinovic’s knee injury was crazy of the game shortly before the break, the captain of the Croatian national team had just recovered from a severe knee to sail and limp into the cabin in tears. The lions could no longer compensate for this, her playmaker Juri Knorr, who failed with a seven meter in the final phase, failed to national team -mate Wolff.
The following showed how bitter this defeat was for the lions: the moderately motivated Mannheimers, who, in addition to Martinovic, also lacked circular runners Yannik Kohlbacher, defeated the passionate second division club Balingen-Weilstetten again 31:32. The lions face a change in the face of a moderate season that is no longer concerned. Among others, Knorr, who is moving to the Danish top club Aalborg, and coach Sebastian Hinze (to THSV Eisenach) will leave the club. The rebuild is now in the hands of coach Maik Machulla, who in turn was released in Aalborg.