Rookie teams in the League - Slovenian representatives Celje PL and Gorenje, have both opened the season with a defeat which means that their direct encounter in the second round will bring at least one of them their first SEHA points. Reminder, Celje was in the first round defeated at home in front of more than 3,500 enthusiastic fans in ‘Zlatorog’ sports hall playing two-time champions Telekom Veszprem (29:34). Gorenje were on the other side looking to catch a ticket for Champions League group stage playing on qualification tournament in PreSov. They did not make losing to hosts Tatran with 23:21.

Both sides will that way on Wednesday, 17.30 CET in ‘Rdeca dvorana’ in Velenje look to forget about recent losses and is there a better way than to beat one of biggest rivals?

Branko Tamse, Celje Pivovarna Lasko’s coach:

The biggest Slovenian derby is ahead of us, Gorenje against Celje Pivovarna Lasko. A busy weekend is behind both teams but when the match begins we will forget about that. I expect a real Slovenian handball spectacle, filled with lots of emotions. We can expect a sold-out hall and of course we hope that many of fans in the stands will be our "Florijani". Every match between these two teams has been very close in the past and we can expect something like that on Wednesday too. This is a special match where past and future are not important, in 60 minutes anything can happen. At this time, we do not think too much about the opponent, we are focused on our team and our game as there is not too much time left to work on mistakes from the match against Veszprem. We still have to see who will be able to play. So far we know Arthur Patrianova won’t be ready. Some other players are also experiencing certain difficulties but I expect to see them in the match-day roster.  

Marko Sibila, Gorenje’s coach:

We have to move forward and prepare for new games, leagues and find a way to book some new wins as I said after the loss in Prešov. We will despite of everything face a big test on Wednesday and we have to do everything we can to please our fans in ‘Red hall’. All players except goalie Ferlin are ready to play. We’ll have to show our fighting spirit and deliver a quality performance in case we wish to win this.

Tilen Kodrin, Celje Pivovarna Lasko’s player:

Season has just began and we already have a derby with Velenje. Our expectations before the match are always positive and all thoughts are on the match. We are preparing and training in order to remove mistakes so I hope we will be on top level when the game begins. Match against Veszprem is already behind us and it showed us that we have to work and improve for challenges ahead. We still have to prepare for Velenje, analyze their playing style and see what we have to focus on.  

Niko Medved, Gorenje’s player:

We are facing a derby with our biggest home rivals. It's also the first time we will play in SEHA League, so we are expecting that "Rdeca dvorana" will be sold-out and that fans will be able to see good and intense game. Both teams have had European challenges during the last weekend. We’ve lost the fight for Champions League and that was a big hit for all of us. But, we need to move forward and focus on the next game with Celje. This is the team that we already know quite well, so we are familiar with their both weaknesses and strengths as they are familiar with ours. Celje is coming to win, but I promise we’ll fight until the last second because it's time for Gorenje Velenje to finally beat Celje after a long time.