Strumica lives for handball, Vojvodina wishing for a winning start

Дебитантот Макс Струмица сака да ја почне сезоната со победа

Dejan Pecakovski

After four seasons of domination for Vardar and Metalurg in Macedonia Maks Strumica have managed to reach second League position and a place in SEHA Gazprom League. Macedonian vice champions will make first appearance in front of their supporters against Vojvodina (August 31st, 17.45 CET)

Hosts are expecting a triumph which would prove they really are worth of SEHA Gazprom League. Experience they have from playing EHF Cup two seasons ago will surely be useful on that mission. Maks have reinforced a bit during the summer playing with lots of ups and downs in pre-season reaching fourth place on Struga tournament and winning last two friendlies against Radovis and Pelister. Another plus for them might be the fact that Vojvodina are currently preparing and timing form for EHF CL and group C where they will on 19th of September meet Meshkov.

Vojvodina will on the other side start the season in Macedonia playing Strumica on Monday and Vardar two days later.

Marjan Andonov, Maks Strumica’s coach:Strumica's participation in SEHA League is a big moment for us. For us this is the first match, and we always have a desire for start win. Vojvodina is similar in quality as us, but more experienced in this competition. I hope to fulfill all tasks.

Igor Milosavljević, Maks Strumica’s player:

Vojvodina comes with modified roster compared to last season, but we also appreciate and respect Serbian champion. Anything but a win for us would be a failure. We have a great team, we are ready, and waiting for tomorrow's match and I can say that we will show that we deserve to play in the SEHA League.

Nikola Marković, Vojvodina’s coach:

Our priority in next matches is not making results because we want to be in top form at the end of September when we have EHF Champions League games at home. Of course, we  respects the debutant in the league. We will try to see if we can already play on level we're preparing for.

Danimir Ćurković, Vojvodina’s player:

We are excited about the start of the new SEHA season. It is a fantastic competition that is progressing every season. It's always a challenge to play in Macedonia. Strumica as debutant certainly have a lot od motive.