Vardar closing in on first spot by beating Montpellier

HC Vardar beat Montpellier to cut Veszprem’s lead to one point in Group D. Montpellier fought hard to stay in the game but the visitors struggled to find a way past Arpad Sterbik and the aggressive Vardar wall.

GROUP C

HC Vardar (MKD) vs Montpellier Agglomeration HB (FRA) 30:26 (18:13)

The two teams went head-to-head in the first part of the game but when Arpad Sterbik made some crucial saves Vardar took the lead and whipped the sold out Jane Sandanski Arena into a frenzy.  The French players struggled to create chances against the massive Vardar wall and Vardar extended their lead to four goals.

Timur Dibirov showed his amazing skills both from the wing and at fast breaks and Sterbik remained excellent to keep his team in control of the game. Dragan Gajic and Baptiste Bonnefond kept Montpellier in the match but the 18 Vardar goals gave Patrice Canayer a lot to talk about at halftime.

Montpellier quickly reduced the gap to three goals as the visitors’ defense started to work better but Vardar never let their opponents come any closer than that. Ten minutes from the final whistle Dibirov extended Vardar’s lead to five goals and Sterbik kicked out Gajic’s shot from the top corner the game was done.

Vardar are now trailing leaders Veszprem by one point in Group D while Montpellier can not climb any higher than fourth.