Eurofarm Pelister managed to use home court advantage on Thursday night at home defeating Meshkov Brest 27:26 and clinching what will be their premier SEHA - Gazprom League Final 4 appearance. It was however a real drama once again with a seven-meter shootout deciding everything.

From the very beginning, it was a close match between two teams that underwent significant roster changes during the summer. Ilya Usik had a great game between the posts from the very first whistle while Maxim Baranau delivered a seven-meter clinic however this time - that simply wasn’t enough. Rudy Seri on the other side had a great game offensively proving to be a big reinforcement for the team from Bitola.

After the first half teams were almost levelled with guests trailing only by one (11:10). Match was pretty much the same in the second with defences dictating the tempo on both sides of the court. It is never easy to play these first competitive matches of the season, especially when those matches are carrying such importance. In the final second of the game Darko Stevanovic managed to crown great last few minutes of the Belarussian team scoring a goal to level the two teams at 23:23. In the seven-meter shootout Radovic and Kuran both missed in the second round and it all went down to the fifth round and Mikalai Aliokhin who didn’t manage to level the match once again and the celebration could begin in Bitola.

In the end 27:26 with Mikalai Aliokhin and Maxim Baranau finishing the match as Meshkov’s best scorers putting seven past Eurofarm’s goalkeepers each. Rudy Seri on the other hand scored six with two assists while Ousamma Hosni added five. New goalkeeping duo Lesjak-Kizic finished the game with eight saves combined.

With this win we now know all four SEHA Final 4 participants. In Zadar - Telekom Veszprem, PPD Zagreb, Nexe Nasice and Eurofarm Pelister will fight for the prestigious title with hopes of starting the season in the best possible way - by winning the SEHA - Gazprom League trophy.

Lars Walter, Eurofarm Pelister coach:
We were great in defense today playong poorly in attack but in the end we somehow managed to win this and I feel like we deserved it. We are a similar team to Meshkov Brest, a team under construction and it is impossible to be on top of our game this early in the season. We showed character making fans happy and that’s what I’m proud of.
 
Mario Tankoski, Eurofarm Pelister player:
It was great to play in this atmosphere and in front of these fans. We led for the whole sixty minutes and it would have been a shame if we didn’t win in the end. Seven-meter shootout is always a lottery, but we showed character, faith and I think we deservedly won. We don't need to waste words about Veszprém and the duel in the semi-finals. We will go to Zadar to enjoy.
 
Dmitry Tikhon, Meshkov Brest coach:
When you lose at penalty shootout it is definitely bad luck. Penalties are a lottery and I'm sorry we didn't have a bit more luck today. I don't know what was missing, but this is just the beginning of the season and we will be better as the season goes by. We Eurofarm Pelister and coach Walter the best of luck in the final tournament.
 
Darko Stevanovic, Meshkov Brest player:
I want to congratulate these great fans who created an amazing, unreal atmosphere tonight. Congratulations to handball players of Eurofarm Pelister, they wanted the victory a little more than we did and believing in the win from the very first moment. We missed those chances that could have created a difference bit that’s sport.

Photo credit: kolektiffimages