Gorenje beat Metalurg with 23:18 after a two-week break
Po dvotedenskemGorenje Velenje premagalo Metalurg s 23:18
After a two-week break Gorenje have on Tuesday played Metalurg at home grabbing a clear 23:18victory.
Hosts were from the beginning proving to be ready and prepared well for the match taking an early lead. It was, on the other side, visible that Metalurg was going through tough schedule lately. They did not perform best they can although their defense was once again on a good level allowing Gorenje to score only 23 goals. Their attacking performance however wasn’t on a required level in order to beat Slovenian vice-champions.
Drogrishki, Petrov, Kuzmanovski, newest reinforcement Ilic and Talevski have scored 3 goals each but that was not enough to stop fresh and well-prepared Gorenje today. Matjaz Brumen scored 6 for hosts, Mitrovic added 4, Cehte 3.
Metalurg will in the next round host Celje PL and Gorenje will play Meshkov in Brest.
Lino Cervar, Metalurg coach:
First of all I would like to congratulate Gorenje for the win, especially to their young head coach. I believe they deserved this win today because they were beter in all aspects of the game. We came here a little handicaped after the last game on Saturday, but this does not take anything away from Gorenje and their victory here today. We did not play well, I expected bigger engagement from my players especially in defense. They did not show fighting spirit with some of them being a bit tired from Saturday but this should not be an excuse for our defeat. Home team was better, and they've outplayed us. We've played soft in defense. In attack we did not play as we were supposed to and when that did not work out we've tried to save the game by shooting from distance, which eventually did not pay off. But we learn from our mistakes each time, players are young and this is the best way for them to learn how to play better.
Stefan Drogrishki, Metalurg player:
In games like this the approach to the game is what counts the most. We've made a lot of mistakes in attack. Today we just did not find our rhythm. The way Gorenje played today was a good example of good fighting spirit. All I can say is congratulations to Gorenje on a great game.
Borut Plaskan, Gorenje coach:
I think today we were better and deserved to win. I'm really pleased with our defense today, we've played as agreed prior to the game and it worked perfectly. When you play as good defense as we did today you can hide some mistakes that occur in attack. Once again congratulations to the team for showing great fighting spirit today. In attack we did have some problems with quick transition but we learn from every game. We've also changed the whole concept a bit so now we have enough time to prepare for upcoming games.
Gregor Potocnik, Gorenje player:
We've showed today that you can achieve a lot with good defense. We've made a few technical mistakes and the result were lost possessions. Mistakes that opponent makes like missed shots as well as our good defense have however pointed the match in our direction. I think we should continue to work on strong defense because with it you can, as seen today, win games. My opinion is that we are on the right track to continue our winning streak.