Motor getting into gear

After a four year absence of Unkranian teams in the VELUX EHF Champions League, HC Motor Zaporozhye ended the drought at the first time of asking.

At their qualification tournament in Novi Sad, Serbia the new Ukrainian champions cruised past Bosnian side RK Borac m:tel 40:18 in the semi-final and were just as convincing the following day against host team RK Vojvodina, winning 36:24 and booking their place in the group phase.

The biggest success in club’s history has been reached with the help of serious strengthening during the summer.

Firstly, Motor’s management secured 45-years-old coach Sergey Bebeshko from Dinamo Minsk, with interim coach Nikolay Stepanets, who won the league with Motor, turned into Bebeshko’s first assistant, reuniting after the pair played together in SKA Kiev.  

The new coach, one of the best known in Ukraine, was very honest about his opponents ahead of the tournament in Serbia.

“There is no underestimation of our opponents. I feel a little bit anxiety, but more confidence.

“My goal is not only to reach the group phase, but to build a team which can contend for the later stages of the competition in the near future,” said Bebeshko.

A number of quality players followed Bebeshko from Monsk, such as Sergey Onufryienko, Vladislav Ostroushko, Oleg Skopintsev and Alexandr Shevelev, while Alexandr Titov, who worked for two years with the coach before moving to SKA Minsk.

The final addition to the Motor-machine was the transfer of Richard Štochl from Russian side Chekhovskie Medvedi.

The 37-year-old Slovakian goalkeeper has won seven national championships in a number of countries around Europe and is only the second player in Ukraine that has not represented an ex-USSR country (after Romanian goalkeeper Zoltan Majeri played for ZTR Zaporozhye in the 2008/09 season).

Despite his short break in training “Richie” Štochl proved in Serbia that he is going to be a very influential player in Ukraine.

A dream come true

All six newcomers played a key role in the historical step towards a place in Europe’s elite competiton.

“I’m really happy to advance and bring Champions League handball back to Ukraine,” said Vladislav Ostroushko, who scored 11 goals in final match against RK Vojvodina.

“It is a dream come true that I’ll play in a top club tournament with a native team, where I always feel comfortable.

“Of course, the favourites in our group are Rhein-Neckar Lowen, but Motor are eager to earn one of the four top-places and reach the last 16,” said the 27-year-old left back.

Motor will make their debut on 19 September in St. Leon-Rot, where they will face Rhein-Neckar Löwen.

One negative for the club is the lack of a suitable hall in Zaporozhye. The club’s first home match with HC Croatia Osiguranje Zagreb Motor on 26 September will be played in the Palace Sport Lokomotiv in Kharkov, 300 km from Zaporozhye, but that has not dampened the expectations of the experienced coach.

“I think our group is not as tough as others. Rhein-Neckar Lowen and MKB-MVM Veszprem are strong rivals, but we will try to get points against them also. The next objective for us is a ticket to the last 16,” concluded Bebeshko.