Kiel end Nantes’ winning streak in goal-fest

GROUP B

THW Kiel (GER) vs. HBC Nantes (FRA) 37:33 (20:18) 

• it was Kiel's fourth victory in nine matches and they are on eight points now, while Nantes remain on 12 points, four below top side, Kielce 
• Nantes had to replace their regular number 1 goalkeeper, Viktor Hallgrimsson, who had played outstanding in the first against Kiel, with relative newcomer Andreas Hofmann - who did his job well with 10 saves 
• the first minutes saw Sander Sagosen and Nikola Bilyk take charge for Kiel, but Nantes struck back and took the lead several times 
• both sides were clearly focused on their attack and high speed, while their defenses underperformed 
• until the score reached 28:27, Nantes were on an equal level - but from then on they missed several chances to level the result and Kiel started their engines to pull ahead to 35:31, their first four-goal advantage 
• top scorers were Bilyk with 10 goals and Swedish EHF EURO champion Karl Wallinius with 7 goals for Kiel while and Thibaud Briet led Nantes with 6 

Kiel almost with full squad again 

Last week, at their defeat in Barcelona, Sander Sagosen made his comeback for THW Kiel after a more than six month injury-absence. Against Nantes, the Norwegian was crucial in attack from the very beginning, but one you could see that he was not yet 100 percent. Line player, Hendrik Pekeler, also returned three weeks ago after an Achilles surgery and a five month break - and against Nantes, he was one of the key players, scoring five goals from five attempts. With both in regular form, Kiel seems ready to start the hunt for a ticket to Cologne.