The Macedonian side turns halftime deficit around and wins a bronze medal match of the SEHA Final 4 against Nexe.

For 35 minutes the bronze medal match of the SEHA Final 4 in Zadar was on edge, then Eurofarm Pelister took a decisive lead right in that period when their opponents Nexe had enormous problems in attack.

After losing the semi-final clearly 27:41 against Telekom Veszprem on Friday, SEHA Final 4 debutants Eurofarm Pelister showed morale – backed by a strong performance of their new goalkeeper Urban Lesjak (11 saves), who had already beaten Nexe in the 2019 SEHA Final 4 bronze medal match with his former club RK Celje. On the other hand, the Croatian runners-up lost their fourth SEHA Final 4 match in two participations (2019, 2022). The best scorers of the match were Oussama Hosni (6) and Mirko Radovic (5), both from Pelister Eurofarm.

Bronze medal match:
HC Nexe vs HC Eurofarm Pelister 23:27 (13:12)

The first halftime was a bit like a roller coaster ride with constantly changing leads – and in the first 30 minutes, the gap wasn't bigger than two goals. Both goalkeepers – Urban Lesjak (Eurofarm Pelister) and Mihailo Radovanovic (Nexe) - stood strong, and both defence sides profited from the cooperation with them.

Nexe had the better start, were ahead 7:5, but the Bitola-based opponents stroke back by a 4:0 run – and then were constantly ahead until the 27th minute. The Croatian runners-up took the upper hand again, using the momentum in the last three minutes of the first half to score a 4:1 to finish with a tight 13:12 lead.

But after 14:12, Nexe’s motor got stuck, and the team of head coach Branko Tamse missed too many chances, caused too many mistakes in attack, and netted only one goal in eight minutes. Their Macedonian opponents grabbed the chance and scored a 6:1 run for their first ever three-goals advance at 18:15, steered by team captain Mirko Radovic and Oussama Hosni. Like in their semi-final against PPD Zagreb on Friday (26:32), Nexe’s comeback came too late. Latest, when Hosni scored for the 26:22 in minute 58, the deal was sealed.

Photo credit: kolektiffimages