Metalurg - PPD Zagreb 26:32 (12:13)

(Jaganjac 7, Andelic 4, Velkovski 4 /  Mandalinic 8, Vuglac 7, Horvat 6: Skok 10 saves )

Kasim Kamenica, PPD Zagreb coach:
It seemed to me like Metalurg’ players were in a bit better position ahead of the match speaking of fatigue as we’ve only two days earlier played a tough match against Vardar. We needed some time to catch the proper rhythm but when we eventually did our experience became visible and we’ve managed to bring match to a safe ending for us.

Igor Vori, PPD Zagreb player:
Match came in a quite unpleasant moment for us, between two tough CL challenges. It was as hard to prepare mentally for the match as it was physically because of the fact we were aware we needed this win. However, I believe we functioned as a team throughout the full course of the match. Metalurg is a team against which it is hard to play fast handball. It was not easy to stay focused in attack, take smart shots, find clear looks. Defense was good today, goalies did their job and I believe this is an important win for us, especially ahead of the clash against Wisla in Champions League.

Aleksandar Jovic, Metalurg assistant coach:
Good match from our side in my opinion as we’ve managed to provide a decent performance against a great team like Zagreb. Well-deserved win for them at the moment as it is clear they are right now a better, more experienced team than we are. We can be proud of ourselves and our performance today. However, Kuzmanovski’ injury that occurred during the first half proved to be a too big hit for us. Our bench is not long enough to deal with such a situation at the moment.

Martin Serafimov, Metalurg player:
We are far from an experienced team but we were able to put up a good fight for almost 50 minutes today. However, we still miss that little something to make a step forward and by that out captain Kuzmanovski suffered an injury which proved to be a big problem for us. In the end a win for Zagreb but I must say that these are the kind of matches that help the team mature, grow and it’s sure we’ll use that in both SEHA and Champions League. There is still a lot of room for improvements.