THW Kiel are through to the final of the Handball Champions League despite suffering a 31-30 defeat by Rhein-Neckar Loewen in their semi-final second leg.

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• Rhein Neckar Loewen 31-30 THW Kiel

After losing the first leg 37-24, Rhein Neckar Loewen needed an improbable 15-goal victory margin against Kiel in order to progress to the final.

And though they were never close to achieving that target, the home side did at least restore some pride in front of their home crowd as they edged a nail-biting 31-30 victory over their opponents, who won the tournament in 2007 and were runners-up in 2006 and 2008.

Kiel's opponents in the final will be decided on Saturday May 2 when Ciudad Real entertain Hamburg in their semi-final second leg. Ciudad Real, last year's champions, hold a one-goal advantage from the first leg.