HC Metalurg make huge step towards the group phase

In the first leg of their wild card knockout match against Hungarian side Pick Szeged, HC Metalurg took a 26:16 victory thanks to a stellar performance in the second half in which the Metalurg defence literally barred their opponents from scoring.

And while they were reluctant to accept the favourites' role ahead of the match, they arguably have to admit now that they have more than just one foor in the door to the VELUX EHF Champions League Group Phase.

Macedonian handball fans therefore can get geared up for a local derby as the winners of this qualification match will proceed to Group C in which the second Skopje side, Vardar, has been drawn.

However, Skopje coach Lino Cervar still remains calm: "It will not be easy in Szeged," he said after the match.

"Someone might say that I am modest for all the wrong reasons. But if we can win here with 10 goals, they (Szeged) can do the same in front of their home crowd.

"We will not just defend in the second game, we will fight to win there. Today our defence was great. On Sunday it's a new game. We start from 0:0."

Quick start and an even quicker finish

Мetalurg started the match aggressively, making the most of almost each of their opponents' mistakes.

They quickly led 4:1 after six minutes, however, following a timeout Szeged reduced the gap to 6:5.

But while - at this stage of the game - they were able to stop Metalurg's long-range shooters Pavel Altman and Renato Vugrinec, line player Vancho Dimovski almost always found a gap in their defence.

Five minutes into the second half Naumce Mojsovski granted Metalurg their first four-goal lead at 15:11, while Pick Szeged did not take make any use of a two-men advantage on the court after Ace Jonovski and Pavel Atman had been suspended.

Instead Metalurg continued to score, pushing the gap to 18:12.

When the hosts led 20:12, Szeged coach Carlos Pastor took another timeout, but it was too late for his team to gain any game-changing momentum.

Pushed by 5,000 frenetic spectators, Metalurg kept control and Altman scored to make it 23:13 in the 50th minute - and Metalurg did not give the 10-goal lead away until the end..

For Skopje's left wing Dejan Manaskov it was the first game after he successfully recovered from ligament surgery.

In the second half he scored four of his six goals overall, showing that he has not lost anything of his prowess.