After the opening loss away from home against Tatran Presov, five-time SEHA – Gazprom League champions Vardar 1961 managed to reach their first win in the new season coming out on top versus Serbian Partizan Belgrade. In the end 31:26 win with Dejan Manaskov and Filip Taleski leading the way combining for 17 goals. 
 
After a leveled opening of the game, Macedonians managed to take control in front of their home fans in the middle of the first at 7:5 not allowing Partizan to overtake the control of this one until the very end of the game. It was also a duel of goalkeepers as Martin Tomovski finished the match with 13 saves while Andrej Trnavac on the other side grabbed 14 saves. After the first half, the result was 16:14 in favor of the home team. 

At the beginning of the second half, guests from Serbia managed to close the gap at 21:21, however, Vardar's 5:1 series opened it to +4 again (26:22) which proved to be the key in this encounter. Until the final buzzer, the "Red&Blacks" were flying on the wings of Dejan Manaskov (8 goals) and Filip Taleski (9 goals) who proves to be in great form after the IHF Men's World Championship in Poland & Sweden and at the beginning of the new SEHA – Gazprom League season which is just what Vardar needed, especially after that opening loss against Slovak champions in Presov. In the end 31:26 and a celebration for the home team. Nikola Zecevic delivered a solid performance on the other side going for seven goals while Ivan Micic added five. 
 
In their next SEHA – Gazprom League appearance in ten days, Vardar 1961 will welcome Tatran Presov seeking for the win after the defeat. Then a little over two weeks later they will travel to Serbia for the second leg against Partizan. The next SEHA match is scheduled for tomorrow with Eurofarm Pelister playing their second away match in only a few days, paying a visit to Nexe. 

Vlado Nedanovski, Vardar 1961 coach:
It was an exciting game the fans could enjoy. Partizan have a good, young roster capable of playing modern, fast-flowing handball. When it comes to us, the fatigue from the IHF Men's World Championship is still visible and I’m sure this is not the true picture of Vardar. I feel like the experience and quality of our players decided this one. That was the key. I’ll once again say that I believe this team will look much better once we get everything in sync. In the end, I have to thank the best fans in the world. They were really pushing us today in those key moments of the encounter.

Tomislav Jagurinovski, Vardar 1961 player:
It was nice to play here tonight in this atmosphere. It is always a pleasure. We did not follow the game plan, the idea was to play faster. The match in Presov wasn’t the real example of what we’re capable of, but neither was this one. The goal is to play well on the defensive side of the court and then be quick in transition. I believe we’ll get better as the season goes by.

Darko Krzelj, Partizan coach:
Incredible atmosphere, what an experience it was to perform in front of this crowd here today! I congratulated my players on a good performance right after the final buzzer. We have a really young team and I have to be satisfied with what we’ve shown today.

Ivan Micic, Partizan player:
It was an exceptional feeling to play here today, in an atmosphere that played a big part in Vardar’s two EHF Champions League titles. I can only say I hope our fans will be able to repeat this in our home game against Vardar. This was only the first SEHA match for most of us and I have to be honest and say I’m satisfied. We’ve delivered a good outing even having a chance to win the game however, Vardar’s experience proved to be the key today.