Hesham’s buzzer-beater sends Montpellier to the final

SEMI-FINAL

THW Kiel (GER) vs Montpellier Handball (FRA) 31:32 (17:16)

• Montpellier shocked Kiel with a great start, leading 4:0, forcing THW coach Filip Jicha to take his first time-out after seven minutes
• saving his first shot after eight goals conceded, Kiel’s goalkeeper Andreas Wolff was then on track: his saves and Eric Johansson’s goals were crucial for THW to turn the match around, finally with a 5:0 run for 17:14 after 26 minutes
• Montpellier found their rhythm again after the break and were on an equal level. Their defence stood more compact and was backed by goalkeeper Charles Bolzinger, even as they let Kiel take a 23:20 lead in the 42nd minute
• seven minutes before the end, the score was level again at 26:26; with 60 seconds left, 30:30 was on the scoreboard, before Sebastian Karlsson scored for Montpellier’s first lead after the break
• Emil Madsen netted for 31:31 26 seconds before the end, and after the final timeout by Érick Mathé, Hesham grabbed the last chance

Montpellier end their German curse

After losing both previous matches at the EHF Finals 2023 against German teams, Montpellier Handball now ended their curse by beating THW Kiel. Sunday will be their second final in a second-tier EHF competition, after 2014 in Berlin. The match was partly a copy of the 2024 quarter-finals in the EHF Champions League, when Montpellier won the first leg 39:30, but Kiel struck back with a 31:21 on home ground.

In the beginning at Hamburg, Montpellier were unleashed and Kiel were shocked, then THW started their comeback. After this 30-minute roller-coaster ride from 1:6 to 17:14, the match was on the edge after the break, getting more and more decided by defence and tactics.

Every time Kiel pulled ahead, Montpellier struck back, with great variations in attack and a strong Charles Bolzinger in the goal.

On the other side, right wing Lukas Zerbe was unstoppable, netting almost from every attempt. In the end, it was a question of power or one lucky shot — both sides were running quite low on batteries. When Domagoj Duvnjak and Patrick Wiencek encouraged their fans in the stands from the court, the volume even got louder. On the other side of the arena, they shouted “Allez, allez, Montpellier”. And finally, the Montpellier fans went crazy after Hesham’s buzzer-beater.

Photos © Kolektiff Images