Champions League: SC Magdeburg Runs Rampant Over Kolstad

German handball champion SC Magdeburg kicked off the new Champions League season with a decisive victory. 5,558 spectators watched the 37–22 (19–12) win at the Getec-Arena. Omar Ingi Magnusson was the SCM’s top scorer with seven goals.

Magnusson was back in the SCM lineup after recovering from an illness, but started the game on the bench. Dominik Kuzmanovic started in goal in his very first Champions League game. The match got off to a slow start, with both teams missing numerous scoring opportunities, but SCM secured an early two-goal lead. 

Magdeburg’s run before halftime

At one point, the lead had grown to four goals, but Kolstad capitalized on Magdeburg’s lapses in concentration on offense to pull within one (7–6, 15th minute). The game remained close for a long time; it wasn’t until the final minutes that SCM pulled away to take the halftime lead.

Even while down a man, Magdeburg extended its lead at the start of the second half because Kolstad repeatedly hit the crossbar instead of the goal—or was stopped by Kuzmanovic. Magnusson extended the lead to ten goals (24:14/41st minute). The visitors from Norway were unable to counter Magdeburg’s quality, and the SCM remained consistent until the final whistle. U18 European champion Tim Thielicke also got on the score sheet.