Gidsel keeps Fuchse Berlin alive in Bundesliga title race with hard-fought Kiel-win

Gidsel slides past the Kiel-defense
Gidsel slides past the Kiel-defense ČTK / imago sportfotodienst / Sebastian Räppold/Matthias Koch

Füchse Berlin remain contenders in the Handball Bundesliga title race after they secured a hard-fought win in the top clash against cup winners THW Kiel, the reigning champions 32-29 (16-14) – less than 48 hours after their Champions League match in Lisbon against Sporting (38-37).

In front of 9,000 fans at the Max-Schmeling-Halle, Tim Freihöfer led the scoring for the capital club with ten goals, ahead of Danish world handball star Mathias Gidsel (eight).

Füchse, who have already suffered three defeats this season – as many as in their entire championship campaign – moved past Kiel, into third place. For Kiel, who also have the same number of points, suffered only their second defeat

For the visitors, Elias Ellefsen á Skipagötu found the net twelve times. 

Match Center: Füchse Berlin vs. THW Kiel

Füchse showed no signs of fatigue, starting the match strongly to build a four-goal lead halfway through the first half, which Gidsel extended to 14-8 with his fifth goal of the game (22nd minute).

At that point, national goalkeeper Andreas Wolff had already left the Kiel goal in frustration. But the visitors fought back to close the gap to 16-14 by halftime.

In the second half, the hosts initially maintained a higher scoring rate, but their lead began to shrink, and Ellefsen á Skipagötu equalized at 27-27 with seven minutes to go. Berlin, however, had more stamina as Gidsel sealed the final win 19 seconds before the buzzer.

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