Lock-down Buducnost keep Vardar at bay

The 2011 EHF Champions League winners Larvik will face the 2012 trophy holders Buducnost in the final match of the 2015 MVM EHF FINAL4 after Buducnost swept away their Balkan rivals WHC Vardar SCBT in the second semi-final (27:17).

MVM EHF FINAL4, semi-final 2

WHC Vadar (MKD) SCBT vs Buducnost (MNE) 17:27 (9:14)

Cristina Neagu scored seven goals and remains just one goal shy of a 100-goal milestone as the Montenegrin champions romped into the final in an impressive fashion never letting the lead slipping out of their hands.

For Vardar third place will be up for grabs against Dinamo-Sinara on Sunday.

Unexpectedly, Vardar's attack was somewhat uninspired being overshadowed by masterclass performances from Neagu and Petrovic with seven goals each, while Lekic and Penezic stood head and shoulders above the rest of the underperforming Macedonian team with four goals apiece.

“I’m very satisfied, we prepared really good for this game and we did what we came to do. Now we need to look forward and think about the final and the reason why we are here in the first place,” Petrovic said.

While the defence is the signature feature for Buducnost, Vardar carried their defensive composure of late into the opening minutes of the match.

After the initial dry spell, Clara Woltering made a spectacular save with four minutes gone, allowing the left wing dynamo Majda Mehmedovic to do what she does best, and score the opening goal for Buducnost from a counter attack.

It was the battle of transitional defences, as Vardar was doing everything they could to slow down Buducnost switching from defence to attack, where their wingers are mercilessly efficient.

Petrovic added two goals to her account approaching the 15-minute mark, while Penezic was kept at bay for 17 minutes netting her first goal in three attempts bringing Vardar within two goals at 5:7.

Vardar tried introducing the seventh player in the attacking phase, it proved a risky affair, and did not bring the desired result against Buducnost's lock-down defence.

Strangely enough, one of the most experienced Vardar players, Andrea Lekic was kept in rotation with Maja Sokac, as the world-class playmaker waited 20 minutes to score her first goal bringing the score to 7:9.

Having Vardar exactly where they wanted them entering the last ten minutes, Buducnost had netted a 3:0 run, which allowed them to set the pace of the decisive clash, with Neagu seemingly unstoppable with four goals.

Approaching the halfway mark, Vardar's game was still full of technical errors, as the opportunities to pick out passes to the wings (Radicevic, 1/3) and line player (Althaus, no attempts) were in short supply.

Another run for Buducnost this time 2:0, came in the dying minutes of the first half, going from 9:12 to 9:14 as the half-time whistle sounds in the Papp Laszlo Sportarena.

Second half did not bring the second chance for the Macedonian outfit, with Buducnost able to further their lead to 11:16 within the initial five minutes, feeding off Vardar’s lack of focus.

It was not happening for Andrea Penezic, as Vardar’s most efficient player scored only one goal to add to her first half tally of three 13 minutes into the second half.

"After today’s bad play we must keep our heads up. We did nothing today, we couldn’t do anything what we had agreed on, what we had talked about. But tomorrow is a new day and I hope we will get new power for the bronze game. It won’t be easy, for sure, but we must think like this. Right now I am very disappointed - not just because we have lost, but that we have lost by 10 goals,“ Jovanka Radicevic said.

On the 45th minute was when the biggest trouble started for the Macedonian team. Buducnost dealt the final blow to frustrated and resigned Vardar, with Cvijic netting to finish off the 5:0 run for 14:22, entering the final ten minutes with Vardar going five minutes without a goal.

Cristina Neagu crowned her seven-goal performance with a breathtaking effort from the left back, to bring the double-digit lead to 26:16, and make a statement before going to the final with a 27:17 win.