Tatran's convincing win prolongs Zagreb' crisis
Presvedčivé víťazstvo Tatrana predĺžilo krízu Zagrebu
Zagreb have once again failed to
celebrate in Prešov against Tatran. Hosts were clearly better with 30:23
prolonging PPD Zagreb' mini crisis which started less than a week ago with a
surprising loss against Besiktas in Istanbul.
It however did not seem to be such a dominant win for hosts from the beginning. Zagreb were able to stay close until 7:7 in the middle of the first half after which Tatran made 7:2 series to end first 30 minutes with 14:9 and big +5. Guests from Croatian capital did not neither manage to find the solution to come closer in the second half with hosts slowly enlarging the gap until +10 (27:17). PPD Zagreb have however in the end managed to concentrate a bit and finish the match with little series bringing them 'only' -7 in the end and avoiding bigger disaster.
Amazing Radoslav Antl was once again too fast scoring 10 goals from 11 attempts. Hrstka was also on high level with 6 goals and Kopčo added 4 both with 100% scoring ratio. On Zagreb' roster best scorers were Horvat and Vujić with 4 goals each.
Veselin Vujović, PPD Zagreb' coach:
They've deserved to win, because they were better in all parts of the game. We came to Prešov without three important players: Stepančić, Pavlović and Kontrec. Tatran really deserved this victory. We will try to get back on winning track in SEHA League and Champions League. I wish Tatran all the best. I hope we will see each other in SEHA League's Final 4.
Luka Šebetić, PPD Zagreb' right back:
I also want to congratulate Tatran on playing a great game. It is not easy for us to face two loses versus Besiktas in Champions League and Tatran in SEHA League. It is really important for us to get back on our feet and play a good game versus Spartak Vojput this weekend before we leave for national team break.
Rastislav Trtik, Tatran's coach:
I mainly want to thank our fans, because today it was an amazing handball atmosphere in the stands. We were really looking forward to this game, because PPD is a symbol of excellent handball for me. We played this game excellently from the point of view of tactics and discipline. It is true that Zagreb missed three players. We know what it means, because earlier this month we missed six players in Champions League and we were losing by ten goals. It was really nice game for fans and I am delighted that our players managed the game very well, mainly Igor Chupryna. Big thanks to organizers for creating great atmosphere in the stands and fans for their support.
Igor Chupryna, Tatran's goalkeeper:
We prepared for the game really seriously. We knew that Zagreb are an excellent team. We carefully watched games of PPD Zagreb in Champions League. Today we've managed to follow tactics our coach created for this match. That was the decisive factor of our win.