Kiel beat Lemgo 35:27 in the Bundesliga on Wednesday evening. The result leaves the hosts top of the table after their opening fixture. The away side remain rooted to the bottom after picking up a point in their first game.
Kiel had lost to Lemgo 31:34 in June, so this time round they made sure the outcome was different. They ran out winners from the first whistle, never letting the visitors back into the match. The gap in quality showed through on the scoreboard.
Lemgo came into this fixture on a run of mixed results. They had beaten Eisenach 39:30 and Ferndorf 32:25 but lost to Flensburg-Handewitt and Magdeburg in between. That inconsistency had already cost them against a tougher opponent.
Kiel's form this season has been sharper than their recent outings. They beat Füchse 37:24 in their latest outing before this game. The attack looked fluid and the defence held its shape throughout.
By then the result was never in doubt. Kiel controlled the tempo and punished every mistake Lemgo made. The visitors never got going and could only watch from the sidelines as the lead grew.
The win puts Kiel two points clear at the summit after one game. Lemgo sit 18th with zero points from their opening match. The gap between the two sides after six games of the season could not be wider.
