Vardar play NEXE in the opening match of the second part of the season
Нексе е последен ривал на Вардар во Скопје сезонава во СЕХА
Teams are slowly, after the WCh, returning to everyday obligations including regional SEHA Gazprom League. Vardar and NEXE will on Thursday (17.45 CET) open the second part of the season in Skopje. This will also be Vardar's last home match of the season.
Macedonians have already qualified for the final tournament. In final 3 matches they need at least two wins to secure the pole position after the regular part of the season.
Teams have had a lot of time to prepare for the second part of the season but were on the other side handicapped with absence of many key players due to WCh - especially Vardar. Luka Cindric is coming to Skopje after being given a day-off and Strahinja Milic might end up sidelined for the duel due to shoulder injury. NEXE will on the other side step on the court in Jane Sandaski sports hall without their injured wingers - Tomislav Nuic and Josip Bozic-Pavletic.
In their premier match of the season Vardar reached a 30:27 win but NEXE were, under new coach Hrvoje Horvat, playing much better in months to come even managing to stun Veszprem which might be a guarantee of a narrow, quality encounter.
Raul Gonzalez, Vardar coach:
We're back on
SEHA Gazprom tracks after a long winter break. I expect a good match against
NEXE and a win to prove why we're at the moment top positioned team in the
League. They are a very good opponent which is rising with their new coach and
they've already proved it against Veszprem. We've given some of our players who
were active on WCh like Luka Cindric and Joan Canellas some time to rest after
the tournament and we still have to see whether we'll use them tomorrow.
Stojance Stoilov, Vardar captain:
This is our
first match this year. We were not together for a long time but I don't think
it will reflect on our performance. We're playing NEXE - an excellent team,
always motivated against us. However, we'll play in front of our fans and we
want to start the second part of the season with a victory which I feel like
we'll be able to achieve.
Hrvoje Horvat, NEXE:
Just a little
look on the standings will show you how tough match we're expecting. They've
had many of their players playing on WCh in France so they might be tired. We'll
play without Nuic and Bozic-Pavletic but despite of that I expect my team to go
out there and seize the opportunity if they get one.
Sasa Barisic-Jaman, NEXE player:
We usually play
better against Vardar in Skopje than in Nasice. They are an excellent team with
whole lot of WCh participants. I expect us to deliver our best handball and see
what it brings us in the end.