After a dramatic defeat in Spain, Medvedi will try to win only for their fans against Ivry.
To forget seven missed 7-m shots
In the shadow of the decisive match for the semi-finals in Group 1, Chehovskie Medvedi and Ivry will meet this evening. The two teams will say goodbye to the CL with this game.
A semi-final dream lost
Maximov and his team lost their chances for the CL semi-finals in Leon. The Russians still can't believe that they missed seven 7-m shots. Croatian goalkeeper Mirko Alilovic crushed their hopes for the semi-finals. Even the experienced Vladimir Maximov can't believe what happened:
“We could have avoided the defeat by making fewer mistakes. It is absolutely impossible to forgive missing all those 7-m shots.”
The Russian coach now has to motivate his team for the last CL match in front of their own crowd. Medvedi have to forget the mistakes that cost them the semi-finals and they will have to concentrate on Ivry only.
After all, Medvedi will not make a further step in their CL history. The best result of the Maximov team was the quarterfinals so far in 2005. They had chance to improve it, but once again, the Russians will not see the semi-finals.
Best CL season in the history of Ivry
On the other side, the CL Main Round was the best result in Ivry's history. This was their second CL season and the French team can be satisfied by winning against Ademar Leon at home. Now, their priority will be to concentrate on their domestic competitions. At the moment they are on third place of the French Championship with 28 points. Montpellier are first with 36 and Chambery second with 32 points.
The match Chehovskie Medvedi vs Ivry will be played on Thursday at 19:00hrs. The referees will be Vaclav Horacek and Jiri Novotny from the Czech Republic. Sport + will show the match live, RTR Sport delayed.
TEXT:
Ivan Ambros