Telekom Veszprém: Corrales, Cupara – Manaskov 3, Yahia, Moraes 1, Nilsson 5, Ligetvári, Marguc 6 (2), Strlek 1, Blagotinsek, Nenadic 6, Maqueda 2, Lékai 2, Borozan 2

 

Meshkov Brest: Pesic, Matskevich – Santalov 2, Panic 5, Shkurinskiy 6, Yurynok 2, Skube 2 (1), Shumak 1, Viarheichyk, Paczkowski 1, Obranovic, Selviasiuk, Vailupau 2 (1), Malus 2, Tamashuk, Vranjes 1

 

Penalties: 2/2 ill. 5/2

Suspensions: 10 perc ill. 4 perc

 

 

The first semifinal of the SEHA – Gazprom League Final4 was started by Telekom Veszprém, but they did not score from the first attack, not like Brest, who took the lead from their first offense. The teams went head-to-head in the first 15 minutes, none of them could get a significant lead, although Veszprém always had the lead, 7:6. Both line players, Andreas Nilsson and Vladimir Vranjes were playing well, as the attack revolved around the pivot position. Marguc started the game really well, he scored from the wing, from the six meter line and from penalty as well, making 5 goals in the first 19 minutes. David Davis called a time out, but it helped more to Brest, who took a two goals lead in the 24th minute, 9:11. Both teams defended aggressively, which is visible from the number of suspensions. Brest managed to take a one goal lead, 12:13 to the half time break.
 
Brest could enjoy their lead for 5 minutes into the second half, after this Nenadic took back the lead, and Nilsson added one more, gaining a two-goals advantage. Raul Alonso called time out early. The difference grew to three goals; Corrales saved a penalty, on the other side Nilsson caught a ball and scored, 19:16. For the last 10 minutes, the teams turned with a 24:20 Veszprém advantage. The Belarusians got tired which lead to misses in offense, and unawareness in defense. Corrales saved well in the second half, and the defensive wall got tougher as well. Telekom Veszprém managed to beat the Belarusian champions with gradually improving performance and qualified for tomorrow’s final! Telekom Veszprém – Meshkov Brest 28:24

 

David Davis: We played two different halves. The first was not so good, disaster tactically. We entered Brest rhythm. We were not playing good, not at all. In the second half, we started to play better, and Rodrigo saved a lot. We have to play much better if we want to win the tournament.
 
Rodrigo Corrales: I am happy because handball is back. To play against Brest is always hard. The key to our win was consistent defense. It was a bit of change in the second half in offense. A lot of things have to change but we want to win. We showed character. It means a lot to be in this final. We want to show a lot more in the final on Sunday.

 

 
Raul Alonso: Mixed feelings. We tried to be on the highest level and we did for 45 minutes. We were making mistakes. The last 10-15 minutes, we did even more technical mistakes. This is the point today. If you want to win against Veszprém you need more than 45 minutes of handball. I am proud of my players, because they fought with the right attitude. We opened the defense and risked a little bit more. This tournament is not over, we will fight for the third place. Congratulations to Veszprém.
 
Marko Panic: Congratulations to Veszprém. We managed to deliver a good performance in the first half, we were patient to take the shot. Veszprém took advantage of our mistakes that is why they could keep up. At the end, Veszprém had the best individual performance that made the difference.

 

 

Photo: Uros Hocevar, Anze Malovrh