22:13
RESULT: Lomza Vive Kielce 37:29 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
SG were fighting an up-hill battle before the whistle even sounded with everything they are going through with injuries and fitness levels. And give credit where credit is due: they never stopped fighting and gave it their all. But there was a lack of real belief from the first minute and when a team like this Kielce side smell that they pounce all over it. With the likes of Nahi (6/8) and Moryto (4/4) on the wings punishing every mistake and Szymon Sicko (9 goals) in fine form from left back, there was no stopping the men in yellow tonight.
It is still surreal to have such crowds in the arenas again and boy did that Kielce crowd add to the buzz tonight!
22:06
Oh dear, it will be an evening to forget for poor Jim Gottfridsson, he hasn't found his flow at all. And that last standing shot that he threw right at Wolff in goal and the expression on his face afterwards just shows you it isn't his evening.
21:56
In our other tie of the evening HC Vardar 1961 vs Montpellier HB we saw a familiar face make his first EHF Champions League appearance of the season: Valentin Porte. The French international was out with a broken finger the last few months, good to see him back in action!
21:49
Aaron Mensing needs to get a shout-out the Dane is one of the only players really on form tonight for SG. There is often very little build-up for him but he is one powerful package. Just give him the ball. Not the same can be said for the rest of the SG backcourt. Little drive and no creativity.
21:44
We are 7 minutes into the second half and a Mateusz Kornecki has the fans on their feet! Listening to that crowd it feels like it will be a long evening for SG. The German side having only netted one in the opening minutes.
HALF-TIME: Lomza Vive Kielce 21:16 SG Flensburg-Handewitt
SG hung tough for large parts of that second half but you feel towards the end of the half they looked really outclassed and stretched in defence. They will need some seriously massive performances from their defence and goalkeepers if they are to stand any chance in the second half. Szymon Sicko has been on fire netting seven goals for the Polish side while Aaron Mensing the Dane has been best for SG with 5/6.
21:11
It has been said a lot already but I will say it again: Dylan Nahi is a serious addition to this Kielce team. You can't help but think that this is the perfect team for him to develop into one of the best wingers in the world, sure isn't he already knocking on that door? He is looking so good tonight and just netted a wondering spinshot to bring Kielce 15:11 up.
21:09
Karol Bielecki is in the house! The former Kielce backcourt shooter and straight up Polish handball legend played for Kielce from 1999 - 2004 and then again from 2012 - 2018.
21:06
EHFTV is back up and running so join us now!
20:57
Kielce are devastating on the fast break tonight. Any mistake by SG and they are all over with Arkadiusz Moryto being on the receiving end of three of these breaks. The Polish international had taken all three of his chances. Kielce 9:5 SG.
20:51
Flensburg's heads seem elsewhere, they have thrown the ball way on a few occasions just handing Kielce fast break goals, Nahi receiving the last gift. Kielce 4:2 SG.
20:46
Interesting. Talent Dujshebaev (head coach Kielce) has opted for Mateusz Kornecki in goal ahead of Wolff. And the Pole saves SG's first effort.
20:45
Here we go. Click here to follow the live scores. Once EHFTV is back up and running we will inform you here!
20:29
Flensburg's injury woes continued during the week with their back court player Franz Semper - who just made his comeback - injured his knee once again in the second half of the DHB Cup against HC Erlangen.
20:26
Two absolute crackers coming up now at 20:45 (CEST)! Unbeaten Vardar host a Montpellier team with a spring in their step having beaten THW in MOTW in the last round. And Kielce will be looking to pick up their third win of the season against an injury-ridden but dogged SG Flensburg-Handewitt side.
Hard to pick one game to focus on but it has to be Kielce versus Flensburg...
20:14
A bit of a hairy finish but the Danish side got the job done. Stellar second half by Felix Claar of Aalborg who ended up as their top scorer with 8/10. Another man who had a great second half was Frenchman Baptiste Bonnefond who scored all but one of his goals in the second half, he finished 8/10.
Brest still await their first points of the season while Aalborg now have 6 points to their name and move intermittently to the top of Group A.
20:09
Disaster! A high tackle by Shumak on Klaar and it's 2 minutes for the big man. With only two minutes left on the clock that could have been Brest's last chance to snatch some points. Time-out Brest!
20:06
The fans were on their feet chanting "Aalborg" when the ball was turned over. A slow build-up by Brest and a jump shot over defender #1 & 2 by Malus and we're back within one!
20:03
The crowd are really getting into it now and it is looking like Aalborg's night. Their backcourt / line play is really starting to cause the Brest defence trouble. Martin Larsen has just popped up to net his first of the game after some lovely attacking play that carved open the Brest middle block. Aalborg 32:30 Brest.
19:57
Some daylight finally for Aalborg! They lead 29:27; they briefly led by three. You feel now slowly the Brest defence is starting to tire and gaps on the line are starting to show...
19:48
25:24 to Aalborg but a 2-minute suspension for Jesper Nielsen. A shout-out has to go to Felix Claar (Aalborg) who has sprung to life in the second half having netted five just in this half so far. The Swede really knows out to turn it up!
19:24
HALF-TIME: Aalborg Håndbold 18:18 HC Meshkov Brest
Wow! Break-neck stuff from Aalborg and Brest so far. They are all tied up (no surprise). Both sides have seven players on the roster who have hit the net. Vailupau and Yurynok are on four each for Brest while Barthold has netted five for Aalborg.
19:11
The difference a time-out can make. Gotta love handball. Palmarsson, Barthold and Björnsen all net in quick succession and we are back level at 14:14.
19:08
BAAM! Some double trouble from Vailupau of Brest and the visitors are +2, and it is a time-out for Aalborg!
19:02
It looks like we are being set up for one hell of a game here. Teams trading goal for goal. Aron Palmarsson just missed his first attempt and could have put Aalborg ahead by one. He will be needed badly this evening so let's hope the Icelandic international gets his head into the game soon. 11:11.
18:58
Andrei Yurynok is leading the charge for Brest with the Belarusian international scoring three out of four chances in the opening minutes. The visitors are looking very sharp in the opening minutes. It's 8:8.
18:53
And we off to a flying start between Aalborg and Brest with the teams coming bursting out of the gates. We are level on 4:4 after a frantic opening few minutes.
18:39
Zagreb’s last victory in the EHF Champions League dates to February 2020 a 31:30 result against Aalborg. So that means it is 600 days since their last win in the EHF Champions League; can the Croatian record champions finally break that curse today? Well, it doesn't look any easier versus the mighty THW Kiel... throw-off 18:45.
18:05
Just 40 minutes to the throw-off our first two games of the day. For the first round of matches we will keep the focus on the Aalborg vs Meshkov Brest game. That burning desire of Brest to pick up their first points of the season and Aaborg fresh off their Super Globe, it could ignite some sparks. But don't worry we won't be fully ignoring the Kiel vs Zagreb tie. Stay tuned!
17:00
Just like Kiel in the simultaneous match, Aalborg Håndbold are coming off a defeat in round 3, against HC Vardar 1961. The 2021 finalists, who finished third upon their IHF Super Globe debut in Saudi Arabia last week, are hosting HC Meshkov Brest at 18:45 CEST.
And Brest? After their club record run to the quarter-final last season, they are currently the only team in the group phase without a point yet. That, of course, will change soon - but already tonight?
16:56
THW Kiel will be eager to bounce back tonight after the 2020 champions suffered a tough defeat at Montpeller HB in our MOTW two weeks ago: 37:30. HC PPD Zagreb, on the other hand, have just earned their first EHF Champions League points since March 2020 (!) with a 27:27 draw against Elverum Handball.
Kiel have won eight of their 16 matches against Zagreb so far, including all three since the last Croatian triumph back in 2015.
16:49
Before we dive into tonight's matches, first in Germany (Kiel) and Denmark (Aalborg) at 18:45 CEST, we want to refresh our memories and look back to what happened so far this season before the one-week break.
Here is an analysis of the first three rounds from EHF journalist Kevin Domas: