PPD Zagreb looking for a first home win this season
PPD Zagreb s novim trenerom traži prvu domaću pobjedu
PPD Zagreb will on Wednesday (18.00 CET) in 'Matchbox' sports hall host Serbian champions, Vojvodina from Novi sad.
Most important news in Zagreb last week was Veselin Vujović becoming PPD Zagreb's new coach. It has, by the first win against Meshkov in Brest in the last round, additionally raised good atmosphere in the locker room. Zagreb has in Belarus managed to show that bad performance against Tatran from the previous round was only a bad day. They have also shown true fighting spirit and will in both attack and defense. Match against Vojvodina is very important for them because opening of EHF's CL and the match against German THW Kiel is only a few days away.
Vojvodina's start of the season was not so good. They have managed to win only one point from four matches. They were not able to surprise Veszprem, Vardar or Tatran but they will not come to Zagreb carrying a 'white flag'.
Vujović will not be able to count on Mandalinić who is still working separated from the team on his knee after spending a few months off the court and Mario Vuglač who got injured in Brest. Đorđe Ćirković will not, on the other side, have Uroš Elezović in his roster also because of an injury from the last round.
Veselin Vujović, PPD Zagreb's coach:
- It is still to early to bring any 'deeper' conclusions about the team. Now I can only say that I'm satisfied with their work on trainings and their commitment. Speaking of the match against Vojvodina, they are current Serbian champions. We respect them and we're fully concentrated on that match. Our goal is to reach SEHA GSS League's F4 and to do that we'll have to win matches like this. We are in my opinion favorites and I hope we'll show that on court tomorrrow.
Luka Stepančić, PPD Zagreb's player:
- Coach Vujović has brought many new things into our trainings and I'm sure it will be great to work with him. Now it is important to concentrate on a match against Vojvodina. We were not good in our first match in 'Matchbox' and I believe we will not disappoint our fans again and win for the first time this season at home.
Đorđe Ćirković, Vojvodina's coach:
- Our schedule is really tough, we have five away matches in a row and it is really hard to find time and strenght for a quality training. It is important for my players to understand that if they play good handball, they can compete against anyone in this League. Zagreb surely is a favorite in this match but we have to play best we can and see what it brings us.
Strahinja Stanković, Vojvodina's player:
- Zagreb's young team is one of the best in the League and they've
showed it in a match against Meshkov. Our goal is to play better than we did in
previous matches and be a tough opponent for Zagreb. I'm sure we'll all give
our best on Wednesday and play quality match.