On Tuesday, HC Alkaloid will bring its first European season to a close, representing Macedonia in the group stage of the EHF European League, with a match against Spain’s Logroño La Rioja.

The upcoming clash with the Spanish team marks the sixth match of the season for HC Alkaloid. We secured one point on the opponent’s home court, setting the stage for the rematch on Tuesday.

BM Logroño La Rioja is a strong team that has been Spain’s representative on the European stage for several consecutive years. Spain has one of the richest handball traditions in Europe regularly winning medals on the big stage.

This team has improved its form since our last match, scoring five victories in the meantime, four of which were in the Spanish championship and one away against HC Vojvodina in Novi Sad. They conceded both defeats at home, against HC Vojvodina and a minimal defeat against Bjerringbro Silkeborg in the last round.

These outcomes not only indicate an enhancement in their performance, but also that they play better in away games, making them even more formidable for the upcoming match.

HC Alkaloid delivered its most impressive performance against La Rioja, securing their first European point. The team is motivated and wants to conclude its debut season in the EHF European League with a victory on the European stage.

PROGRAM FOR THE HC ALKALOID – BM LOGROÑO LA RIOJA MATCH

The match will take place on Tuesday in the Jane Sandanski arena in Skopje, starting at 06:45 PM. The two referees Jakub Jerlecki and Maciej Labun come from Poland, while Vladimir Jovic from Bosnia and Herzegovina will delegate.

Tickets for the match, priced at 100 and 150 MKD, will be available through the MK Tickets sales network.

HC MULTI ESSENCE – HC VARDAR 1961 23-40 (11-20)

Venue: Jane Sandanski in Skopje. Referees: Ivo Georgievski and Igor Naumovski. Controller: Kamer Metalari

HC MULTI ESSENCE: Ermanoski, Dimevski 5, Kostovski 1, Ilieski, T. Uzunchev, Petreski, Trajchev, Trajkovski, Vasilevski, Todeski, D. Uzunchev 3, Dimovski, Jordanov 6, Karasmanakis 8

Seven-meter throws: 1/3 Suspensions: 4 min.

HC VARDAR 1961: Tomovski, Jagurinovski 6, Alarov 1, Georgievski 3, Karapaleski 4, Hanser 2, Lazarevski 7, Srdanovic 4, Nikolic 5, Petric 3, Dukic 2, Atanasovski, Stojanovski 1, Kjosevski, Mishevski 2, Gogov

Seven-meter throws: 3/3 Suspensions: 4 min.

In tonight’s return match, with the roles of hosts reversed, HC Multi Essence played as the home team against HC Vardar in the Jane Sandanski arena. Vardar 1961 entered the match as a significant favorite and lived up to that status on the court, securing a convincing 40-23 victory and claiming three points.

HC Multi Essence quickly got into a position to recover from a deficit as the opponent took a 4-1 and later a 6-2 lead. A period of a more balanced match play ensued, however the margin, albeit at a slower pace, continued to widen, reaching a score of 11-20 by the end of the first half. The second half proceeded at a similar pace, ultimately resulting in a final score of 40-23. Valentin Karasmanakis, having scored eight goals, and Oleg Jordanov, with six goals, emerged as the most effective players in our team tonight.

HC ALKALOID – MHC KUMANOVO 29-12 (14-9)

Venue: Avtokomanda in Skopje. Referees: Viktor Nachevski and Danielo Bozhinovski. Controller: Dragan Nachevski

HC ALKALOID: Romero, Galevski, Garbeski 6, Mladenovikj 4, Stojchevikj, Stojkovic 1, Gjorgiev 1, Velkovski 1, Omeragikj 5, Kofiloski 1, M. Mitev 1, D, Mitev 3, Savrevski 6

Seven-meter throws: 1/1 Suspensions: 10 min.

MHC KUMANOVO: Dimitrijevski, Kimevski, Dimitrov, Stojanovski, Danevski 3, D. Cvetkovski 1, Boshkovski, Tasevski 3, B. Cvetkovski, Miladinovski, Bogdanovski, Ilievski, Simonoski 1, Ucha 4, Mihajlovski

Seven-meter throws: 1/1 Suspensions: 6 min.

This evening, HC Alkaloid secured a win against MHC Kumanovo, marking their 13th victory in as many Super League matches played. In today’s game, coach Kiril Lazarov decided to rest Trajkoski, Serafimov, Markoski, and Djonov, giving cadet Maksim Garbeski the opportunity to debut for the first team. Notably, Garbeski also emerged as the top scorer in the match with six goals, matching the performance of David Savrevski.

The outcome of the game was determined early on, with HC Alkaloid establishing a commanding lead of 9-1 in the initial phase. By halftime, the score stood at 14-9, and in the second half, our team demonstrated outstanding defense play, conceding only three goals until the conclusion of the match. The final score settled at 29-12. The upcoming challenge for our team will be against Logroño La Rioja in the EHF European League, scheduled for Tuesday at 06:45 PM in the Jane Sandanski arena.

The draw at the Macedonian Handball Federation (MHF) determined the opponents of HC Alkaloid and HC Multi Essence for the Macedonian Cup elimination match.

HC Alkaloid is set to face HC Drachevo from Skopje as the visiting team, while HC Multi Essence will be competing against HC Bisinov Fruit Land from Veles on the away court.

The matches are scheduled to take place on December 9/10, 2023.

Our HC Alkaloid completed its away fixtures in the EHF European League with a match against HC Vojvodina in Novi Sad (29-34). Following the encounter at the Slana Bara arena, coach Kiril Lazarov analyzed and commented on the match against the Serbian champion.

“We witnessed an intense battle between the two teams. Vojvodina is a seasoned and high-caliber squad which it demonstrated in this match. They always introduce fresh elements to the game and have highly skilled players, making it difficult to compete against a team like this, especially when you have a young squad like ours. We are learning and accumulating experience from all these matches”, said Lazarov.

Marko Mitev also spoke on behalf of the team.

“This was an excellent match for both teams. Although we missed some chances during the game, we competed against a formidable and high-quality opponent, and we can only learn and gain experience from such matches and teams. We must become better and be more focused in order to have positive outcomes against more experienced teams in future,” said Mitev.

To conclude the group stage in its debut season in the EHF European League, HC Alkaloid is gearing up for a home match against Spain’s Logroño La Rioja, the team against which they secured their first European point on the away court.

HC VOJVODINA – HC ALKALOID 34-29 (16-11)

Venue: Slana Bara in Novi Sad. Referees: Emil Agakishi and Ernest Agakishi from Azerbaijan. Delegate: Emir Beslija from Montenegro

HC Vojvodina: Lucin, Trnavac (18 saves), Sijan 1, Vorkapic 7, Vukovljak, Aziz 9, Ratkovic, Milenkovic, Sunajko 1, Pushica, Radjenovic 1, Pesic, Tomic, Rogan 2, Golubovic 6, Pukhouski 7

Seven-meter throws: 2/2 Suspensions: 6 min.

HC ALKALOID: Trajkoski (8 saves), Galevski (2 saves), Djonov 3, Markoski 1, Mladenovikj, Serafimov 8, Stojchevikj, Stojkovic 5, M. Mitev 6, Gjorgiev 1, Velkovski, Omeragikj, Bingo 1, Kofiloski, D. Mitev, Savrevski 4

Seven-meter throws: 4/5 Suspensions: 2 min.

HC Alkaloid played their final away match in the EHF European League. In the fifth round, our team faced the Serbian champion, HC Vojvodina in Novi Sad.

The home team secured the points with a score of 34-29, ensuring their spot in the Main Round. HC Alkaloid, however, has one more match left its debut European season. In the upcoming round on December 5^th in Skopje, the team will host Spain’s La Rioja Logroño in Skopje.

This evening in Novi Sad, HC Vojvodina proved to be the more resourceful opponent. The home team took a 6-3 lead in the ninth minute, capitalizing on several misses and two technical errors from our team.

During this phase of the match, HC Alkaloid made two attempts to narrow the deficit to a minimum, successfully reducing it to 6-7 within 15 minutes. Following this, we attempted to equalize, but the opponent’s goalkeeper made a crucial save. This disrupted our attacking rhythm, allowing the Serbian team to regain a more comfortable position with a score of 11-7. By the end of the first half, HC Alkaloid had several chances to finish with a smaller deficit. Our team, however, failed to capitalize on the situations created leaving HC Vojvodina with an advantage of 16-11 at halftime.

In the second half, Alkaloid was trying to overcome the deficit, but Vojvodina cleverly maintained their lead. After ten minutes of play, the score was 25-20, followed by 27-22. This positive trend for the Serbian team in the match’s final minutes proved unattainable for our team, with the score reaching 31-24 at one point.