Flensburg coach Ales Pajovic was"very, very satisfied. You can't play badly with a crowd like that" behind you and the defense was"really good", said Pajovic to ARD after the match.
To the match centre: Flensburg vs. Kiel
Moller excelled with 16 saves, and his Danish compatriot Lukas Jorgensen led the home side with ten goals in the fourth successive derby win in front of 6300 spectators. Pajovic's team are now four points behind league leaders Füchse Berlin and the two Champions League places are once again within reach.
Emil Wernsdorf Madsen stood out for Kiel with nine goals in perhaps the most important game in German handball. THW captain Wiencek, who played almost exclusively in defense, did not score a goal on his 36th birthday - in his last northern derby.
The former national team player will end his active career in the summer. Wiencek felt the defeat was deserved"because we made too many mistakes and weren't as effective in defense as we wanted to be".
Moller and missed chances: Kiel despondent
THW coach Filip Jicha had explained beforehand that a win was only possible"if you don't get caught up in the derby frenzy and remain patient".
The record champions managed to do so despite the heated atmosphere in Campushalle at the start of the game. However, the home side began to pull away after 14 minutes leading 9-6 as Kiel made more and more technical mistakes.
Moller made countless strong saves and initiated counter-attacks with deadly precision. In the final second before the interval, Kiel keeper Tomas Mrkva, who had taken over for the hapless Andreas Wolff, scored into an empty net to make it 17-19 and give Kiel a lifeline.
The pace remained high after the break, but Kiel failed to capitalise on high-quality opportunities.
Instead Flensburg pulled four goals ahead after 35 minutes before THW fought back and Hendrik Pekeler missed the chance to equalise to 25-25 after 42 minutes.
Flensburg from then on never looked back and secured the bragging rights over their dreaded rivals.