Wolff’s wonders push Kielce to the final

It was not an easy matter, though, as Paris gave them a fierce resistance. In the first half, only once did Kielce take a three-goal advantage thanks to a momentum that lasted five minutes. Alex Dujshebaev and Artsem Karalek were instrumental in this first act, scoring five and four goals respectively for the Polish team.

In the second half that saw the French side briefly take the lead, it all came down to the last two actions. Andreas Wolff pulled off two amazing saves against Luc Steins and Elohim Prandi to secure Kielce’s presence in the EHF Champions League final for the second time in a row.

SEMI-FINAL 2

Paris Saint-Germain HB (FRA) vs Barlinek Industria Kielce (POL) 24:25 (14:16)

• in a very even first half, one man was clearly in the spotlight: Artsem Karalek, the line player from Belarus, who scored four in the first quarter for Kielce
• it was not until the 25th minute that one of the two teams took a three-goal advantage. Scoring four straight, including two by Szymon Sicko, Kielce gained the momentum right before half-time
• the second half was completely the opposite of the first one, much slower and with only one goal scored across its first eight minutes. But this marathon rhythm seemed to fit Kielce just as well, as the Polish side remained on top until the last quarter
• with Elohim Prandi as their main offensive asset, Paris made a comeback that looked out of hand, and even took the lead at the 48th minute
• while both teams had the opportunity to win in the last minutes, Kielce’s goalkeeper Andreas Wolff made the difference thanks to saves against Luc Steins and Elohim Prandi
• both teams’ best scorer netted six times: Luc Steins for Paris and Alex Dujshebaev for Kielce
• Kielce will play against SC Magdeburg in the final on Sunday while Paris will face Barça in the 3/4 placement match

Two key saves were enough for Andreas Wolff

His statistics might not be the most amazing ones. With 12 saves and a 34% efficiency rate, the German goalkeeper’s performance will only be remembered because he pulled off the perfect saves at the right time. A couple in the first half to help Kielce break away and two in the last seconds to save his team’s success. First in front Luc Steins who had just broken away in the defence and then on a last chance shot from Elohim Prandi. Enough to secure the final!

photos (c) EHF / kolektiff

Andreas Wolff, Kielce goalkeeper: "I had hoped we would win the game after the save against Luc. I saw there were 20 seconds left, and I felt I had to remain focused. Tomasz Gebala helped me and blocked the ball a little but, against Prandi, an amazing shooter and that helped me a little bit. I remembered immediately that there is a final tomorrow and that we have not won anything yet. In my opinion, we will face the most dangerous team tomorrow. How they have played today is amazing, and the character they showed over the last two years is incredible. They have progressed to the final without key players and they beat Barça, a team that won the trophy twice. They are incredibly strong. We are at the same level as we were last year and now we want to go a step further.”

Luc Steins, PSG centre back: "Kielce had a great game, it was a real fight, the difference was made by details. Both teams played strong in defence, we could not score as many goals as usual. We only scored 24, we usually score 30, this is where we lost the game in my opinion. Kielce did a really good job in defence, they are a really experienced team at this level where games are decided in defence. I am really disappointed of course, but I hope this game will be useful for us in the future."