Meet Meshkov Brest: Always among the elite – but never on top

Meshkov

For Belarusian champions Meshkov Brest, the easiest part in SEHA - Gazprom League, in recent years, was to qualify among Top 4 teams. But the team never managed to make that step forward and to climb on top of the podium. In all of their seven seasons in SEHA - Gazprom League, Meshkov participated at the Final tournament. Every time they missed a chance to give joy to their fans, even though two seasons ago they hosted the tournament.

Apart from qualifying for the SEHA Final 4, Meshkov Brest also managed to reach the Top 16 phase in EHF Champions League. They had a scary group, alongside Barcelona, Veszprem, Vardar, PGE Vive Kielce and other great teams, but managed to reach the next phase at the expense of reigning European champions Montpellier.

One of the key players in all competitions this season was the summer signing, Darko Djukic. He highlighted the importance of this Final 4 for Meshkov Brest: “My expectations are high, because we have a high-quality team. This year the Final 4 is in Brest again, but we all know the club has always played at the Final 4. Earlier, they finished second twice, but I think the time has come to win it“.

The main story for Meshkov Brest this season was playing on many fronts, including the domestic championship. Thus, they had to combine the best players for best opponents. Many times, Meshkov Brest gave an opportunity to younger players, which they very lucky to get. Manolo Cadenas had a very difficult task in finding the right balance in his team, especially with so many difficult matches on schedule.

On top of that it was crucial for Meshkov Brest to win points, after they lost points against Tatran Presov and Nexe at home, and Steaua Bucuresti and Vojvodina as guests. After New Year, Meshkov took all in their hands, played much better and managed to beat Vardar and Nexe as guests and PPD Zagreb in Brest. This was enough to finish in fourth position with 39 points, same as Nexe and PPD Zagreb. Still, their best ever number of points were in the first SEHA appearance, when Belarusians finished first in regular season, with 40 points on board in 2012/13. 

They are heading to the SEHA Final 4 on a 9-match winning streak, the best from any team this season! Their last three regular season matches were all against Final 4 participants, Vardar, PPD Zagreb and Nexe. Meshkov Brest beat all three of them to close out the regular season. 

Looking at the numbers, Meshkov Brest were the team with the most goals this season, sitting comfortably at the top with 573 goals scored. Three players scored more than 50 goals, Djukic had 57, Djordjic 56 and Baranau 52. Sandro Obranovic with 39 assists and Sime Ivic with 36 were in TOP 5 in assists. 

Home team is hungry for success, and fans await a big trophy in club premises. After 7 Final 4 appearances, 2 silver medals, 1 bronze medal and many incredible matches, maybe it’s time to change the tradition and history.