IHF Super Globe: Defending Champions Kiel Winner of Group B, Al-Sadd in Semifinal

Doha, August 29 (QNA) - THW Kiel are the winner of preliminary round group B of the IHF Super Globe. By beating Mudhar (KSA) clearly on Wednesday, the defending IHF Super Globe champions secured their third victory and finish the first stage with a 100% record. Mudhar remain with two points and missed the semifinal regardless the result of the final group match Al-Sadd Sydney. Host Al-Sadd already progressed to the semi before their match against the Aussies, thanks to their yesterday s victory over Mudhar. THW Kiel (GER) Mudhar (KSA) 42:31 (20:14) 25 minutes the Saudis played brilliant and were on absolute close level to the EHF Champions League and IHF Super Globe champions but then Kiel showed their real face. When they could start their counter-attacks, Mudhar became absolutely chanceless against the again unstoppable THW express. In the initial stage the Mudhar back court shooters Amine Bannour and Waei Jallouz imprinted the match with their hammer shots. Surprisingly the Asian club champions were in lead 11:10 in minute 17 then Kiel goalkeeper Thierry Omeyer improved and his saves were the base for the outstanding fast-breaks, especially by Filip Jicha and Dominik Klein. Thanks to a 10:3 series the Germans were leading 20:14 at the break and had broken the resistance of Mudhar. In the second half THW coach Alfred Gislason changed different players including the goalkeeper, but the performing level remained the same. The Saudi-Arabians tried to stop the THW by an offensive defence tactics but Kiel overran their opponents thanks to their better individual skills and counter-attacks. Latest after a double-strike of Marko Vujin to 29:20 the clear win was sealed but still Kiel showed spectacular goals. Not only the defeat, which meant the end of their semifinal dreams, hit Mudhar, but also the ankle injury of Majed Aboalraha occurred after a clash with Jicha in minute 40. He had to be transported off the field by a stretcher. After their brave and strong performance against Al-Sadd on Tuesday 28 August, which unluckily ended in a close defeat, Mudhar missed energies to stand against another top opponent. In minute 48 the result was double-figured for the first time at 34:24. Alfred Gislason, coach Kiel: We had great respect for Mudhar after their two strong opening matches. We wanted to win this game to become number one, and we reached this goal. We had some problems, as Narcisse, Ilic and Zeitz had to be replaced due to illness, so we could not change that much. In the beginning we were too defensive in defence against a strong Mudhar team, so conceded 31 goals seem a lot. But our first goal was to finish first and beat a very strong team. So we are really happy to be number one. Rene Toft Hansen, player Kiel: This was a high-speed match with a big number of goals, really fast. We are very satisfied that we are number one. Regardless the team in the semifinal, we will face a top opponent. Farouk Dehili, coach Mudhar: We had a very short time of preparation, and our players lacked fitness after two tough matches. Despite the defeat I am proud of this team, which lacks experience compared to Kiel. But other teams in Germany or Europe lose with even more goals against THW, as they play very fast and score many goals. Mohammed Alzayer, player Mudhar: We are satisfied as we played strong against one of the best teams of the world. We were tired after two hard matches, and in contrast to us, Kiel have two complete teams one on the field and one on the bench. But finally we made good promotion for Saudi-Arabic handball. (QNA)