Mathias Gidsel scored nine goals to help Füchse Berlin beat THW Kiel 28-25 in front of 9,000 fans at a sold-out Max-Schmeling-Halle on Friday, closing the gap at the top of the Handball-Bundesliga.
The capital club reduced Kiel’s lead at the summit to just six minus points compared to the visitors’ five. The high-intensity fixture saw the hosts immediately seize the momentum in the opening stages before Kiel fought back physically.
Füchse initially raced into a 6-3 lead after capitalizing on early transition play and forcing an early two-minute suspension for Kiel’s Veron Nacinovic within the first minute. But the record champions gradually wrestled back control through superior physical play in the offense and a tightened defensive block.
Kiel wiped out the early deficit by the midway point of the opening period and secured their first lead at 9-8 in the 18th minute. Goalkeeper Lasse Ludwig kept Berlin within striking distance through a string of crucial stops, sending his side into the interval trailing 14-12 after the hosts hit the aluminum frame four times.
The second half remained fiercely contested until Berlin staged a decisive surge late in the fixture. Powered by a vocal home crowd and Ludwig’s continued resistance between the posts, the hosts overturned the deficit to lead 21-20 before launching a 5-0 run that carved out a decisive 26-21 advantage with seven minutes left on the clock.
- Mathias Gidsel delivered a match-winning nine-goal performance in a high-stakes title showdown.
- Füchse Berlin’s emphatic 5-0 late-game run tightens the Bundesliga outright title race as they narrow the gap on leaders THW Kiel.
- Lasse Ludwig's second-half shot-stopping stabilizes Berlin's defense against elite physical opposition.
Lukas Zerbe contributed four goals for THW Kiel in the defeat, though the visitors ultimately failed to withstand Berlin’s decisive closing sequence.
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