Zagreb defence nullify Metalurg

The match in Zagreb brough few goals but a lot of excitement as Zagreb went head-to-head with Metalurg for most of the match but the visitors just could not keep pace with the home side’s defence.

GROUP A
HC PPD Zagreb (CRO) vs HC Metalurg (MKD) 19:17 (10:8)

One could tell from the first 10 minutes that the clash of the ex-Yugoslav teams would not be a goal feast. Zagreb’s 5-1 defence worked excellently and it took the visitors eight minutes to find score their first goal.

Metalurg's coach Lino Cervar, who spent seven seasons in Zagreb before moving to Metalurg in 2009, knew what to do against his former team and his current squad managed not to let the Croatian champions get away, although the home side held on to their firm lead.

Pavel Atman tried to run the show for Metalurg and while the Russian playmaker scored three goals the Macedonian team found it extremely difficult to find the key for the outstanding defence of Zagreb.

Zlatko Horvat was plain unstoppable, the wing scored almost half of his team’s goals (9) but Metalurg never said die and equalised around the middle of the second half. The Zagreb crowd went berserk and supported their team loudly when Metalurg took over but the last minutes were all about Zagreb.

The previous match with a fewest goals scored between these two rivals was in 2012 (19:18), this time the teams could not even match their tally from two years ago. Thanks to their victory Zagreb jumped to second place while Metalurg remained last and their hopes of advancing to the Last 16 are tarnishing.

The 36 goals scored was a record low number in the EHF Champions League since Chambery beat Plock 21:13 on 15 October 2006.