Vardar proved why they were favourites ahead of the SEHA - Gazprom Final 4 semi-final face off against PPD Zagreb taking a narrow 26:24 (12:10) victory and with it, booking a place in the big final on Sunday (3 April) where they will play MVM Veszprem.

Unlike in the first semi-final duel of the Final 4, the favoured side managed to open the match strong. Vardar seemed to be more confident and much tougher in defence with more depth than PPD Zagreb and it was no surprise that they were in lead through the first 30 minutes of the clash.

Zlatko Horvat was perfectly precise from the 7-metre line with three out of three in the first half which kept Zagreb alive and close along with a few karate kid saves by Filip Ivić in the Zagreb goal.

In addition to that, the sold-out Arena Varaždin was full with most spectators supporting the Croatian side, effectively their eighth player.

Igor Karačić was too fast for the Zagreb defence whose coach Veselin Vujović desperately tried to rotate to counteract Vardar's fast back trio of Igor Karačić, Luka Cindrić and Alex Dujshebaev but he could not draw level and Vardar went into the break two goals up at 12:10.

In the second half Zagreb woke up with Ivan Stevanović making a few tough saves and 10 minutes after the restart Domagoj Pavlović equalised after Mijajlo Marsenić struck home - one to watch one more time.

As the duel entered the final moments it remained tight until the very end when Dujshebaev decided to take everything into his own hands, scoring two goals in a row and providing Vardar with a chance to win their third SEHA - Gazprom Final 4 crown on Sunday in the grand finale against MVM Veszprem.

Dejan Manaskov and Zlatko Horvat were best scorers for their teams with six goals each and five out of five from the 7-metre line.

Dujshebaev added scored five for Vardar and Cindrić was once again on high level with four for Vardar - Tin Kontrec, Luka Šebetić and Pavlović hit the same each for Zagreb. 

VARDAR

Šterbik 8, Milić, Angelov; Stoilov 1, Brumen, Toskić 1, Manaskov 6 (5), Maqueda 1, Karačić 3, Dujshebaev 5, Abutović, Cindrić 4, Dibirov 1, Gorbok 3, Shishkarev 1, Marsenić. Coach: Raul Gonzalez.

PPD ZAGREB

Stevanović 4, Ivić 4; Vujić, Kontrec 4, Šprem, Šebetić 4, Marković 2, Raković, Horvat 6 (5), Šušnja, J. Valčić 3, T. Valčić, Mandalinić 1, Obranović, Markoski, Pavlović 4. Coach: Veselin Vujović.

MVP: Alex Dujshebaev

Quotes after the match:

Raul Gonzalez, Vardar coach:

"Congratulations to Zagreb; they had a very good performance and it was a real spectacle here today - we were not able to enlarge the goal difference to make this victory easier.

"Zagreb's 6-0 defence was really good and the main reason why we did not decide this match earlier.

"Of course I can in the end say I'm pleased with our performance although we were struggling through the bigger part of the match to find and keep our rhythm going."

Mijajlo Marsenić, Vardar player:

"You don't beat Zagreb in such an atmosphere every day. However, we still have not met our goals here, we wish to win this competition and I hope we'll make it on Sunday.

"I wish Zagreb all the best; they've proved to be a really good team by qualifying through to the EHF Champions League Quarter-Finals in such a match against Rhein-Neckar Löwen."

Veselin Vujović, PPD Zagreb coach:

"It was from the beginning visible that both teams are eager to get a place in final. There were lots of nervous play, moves, tough fouls - it was a real man match.

"I am of course not satisfied with a loss but I can't say anything bad about my team, we've really fought well today and when I see my boys playing like they did today it makes me happy.

"I hope we'll see a quality match in final and of course I wish Coach Raul and Vardar all the best."

Luka Šebetić, PPD Zagreb player:

"First of all I'd like to thank all the fans fans for coming and supporting us. It was a tough, narrow match for all 60 minutes.

"Unfortunately, we did not win in the end but our performance is something we can be satisfied with. It was a really good match and I wish both teams all the best in future challenges."