HC ALKALOID – HC VARDAR 1961 20-25 (11-12)

Struga. Referees: Dimitar Mitrevski and Blagojche Todorovski. Delegate: Dushko Kamishevski

HC Alkaloid: Romero (8 saves), Trajkovski (4 saves), Djonov 1, Markoski 1, Stojkov 1, Mladenovikj 1, Serafimov 8, Stojchevikj, Stojkovic 2, Mitev 2, Gjorgiev 3, Velkovski, Omeragikj, Bingo, Kofiloski, Savrevski 1

HC Vardar 1961: Tomovski (12 saves), Jagurinoski 1, Alarov, Georgievski 1, Karapaleski, Hanser, Lazarevski 2, Srdanovic 14, Nikolic 1, Petric 2, Gjukic, Alonso, Melo, Mishevski, Gogov, Yasuhira 4

HC Alkaloid won second place at the International Tournament in Struga where it participated for the second time. Our team played against HC Vardar 1961 in the final, which was held both on the open field and in the hall, where it was moved due to rain.

The match was even scored throughout, and neither team managed to make a lead of more than two goals until the last two minutes.

HC Alkaloid dictated the score in the opening minutes, but the opponent managed to make a mini run and lead 7-5 before the match was stopped.

After more than half an hour of interruption, the game continued in the hall, leaving at halftime with a score of 11-12.

Our team opened better in the second part and took a 13-12 lead. Then, goal for goal, the game was tied. However, at the very end, with a negative score of 20-21, we failed to take advantage of clear opportunities, and the match ended with a score of 20-25.

The matches of the Struga Tournament were our team’s first control games in the preparations. We will continue with test matches, this time in Croatia, against the best Croatian teams.

HC ALKALOID – AEK 26:23 (13:15)

Goran Poposki Babec field in Struga. Referees: Dimitar Mitrevski and Blagojche Todorovski. Delegate: Slavcho Kalanoski

HC ALKALOID: Romero (7 saves), Trajkovski (4 saves), Djonov 1, Markoski 2, Stojkov 2, Mladenovikj 3, Serafimov 5, Stojchevikj, M. Mitev 4, Gjorgiev 1, Velkovski 3, Simonoski, Omeragikj, Bingo 4, Kofiloski, Savrevski

HC Alkaloid won the second victory at the 2023 Struga International Tournament. Our team played against the champion of Greece, AEK Athens, in the second round and won a 26-23 victory.

HC Alkaloid opened the match better and dominated the first 15 minutes. Goalkeeper Blagojche Trajkovski and back Mihajlo Mladenovikj had their inspired moments and took the team to a 9-5 lead.

After this, the Greek team got back to the game and managed to even the score to 10-10, while at halftime the score was 13-15.

A tougher battle was fought in the second part in which HC Alkaloid gained confidence as time passed. Goalkeeper Alejandro Romero added value to our game by making excellent interventions on several occasions and uplifting the team.

HC Alkaloid evened the score to 21-21, then to 23-23, and at the finish, delivered the victory with a 3-0 run.

This win also means placement in the tournament final where we will face the team of Vardar 1961.

HC ALKALOID – HC DINAMO PANCHEVO 27-23 (12-9)

Women’s Beach field – Goran Poposki – Babec in Struga. Referees: Viktor Andonov and Stojancho Jovanovski. Delegate: Kamer Metalari

HC Alkaloid: Romero (8 saves), Trajkovski (4 saves), Djonov 2, Markoski 2, Stojkov 1, Mladenovikj, Serafimov 4, Stojchevikj, Stojkovic 2, M. Mitev 2, Gjorgiev 1, Velkovski 2, Simonoski 6 (5), Omeragikj, Bingo 2, Kofiloski 1, Savrevski 2

HC Alkaloid started off the 2023 Struga International Handball Tournament with a victory. In the first round, our team played against HC Dinamo Panchevo from Serbia and won by 27-23 (12-9).

HC Alkaloid started the game stronger, the defense played well, and goalkeeper Alejandro Romero made a number of saves before our players took the initiative and determined the outcome, most often by one to two goal difference, with the score at halftime being 12-9.

Coach Kiril Lazarov had the opportunity to give all players a chance in the rotation. The result did not suffer, on the contrary, the distance increased in the second half and we had a lead of five goals on several occasions (15:10, 18:13).

At the match finish, we successfully defended against the opponent team’s attempt to change the score and led the game without any uncertainty to the final 27:23.

In the next round, HC Alkaloid will play against AEK from Athens. The match will take place on Friday.

HC Alkaloid will take part in the 51^st Struga Handball Tournament, which will be held from August 16 to August 19. This will be the second time that HC Alkaloid participates in the country’s oldest tournament.

Our team, together with the teams of AEK Athens and HC Dinamo Panchevo, will compete in group A.

HC Alkaloid will play its first match on August 16 against the team of HC Dinamo Panchevo, starting at 08:40 PM.

We will play the second match against AEK Athens on August 18, starting at 08:30 PM.

On the last day of the tournament, we will compete for the final placement against a team from group A, which includes HC Struga, HC Vardar 1961, and the Swedish team Eskilstuna GUIF.

After completing the first part of the warm-ups, HC Alkaloid started the second phase of preparations for the upcoming season. The team has already arrived in Mavrovo and will spend ten days there preparing. The handball players will train in the mountain center with a focus on physical fitness, before starting the control matches. Our team is scheduled to compete in the Struga tournament (August 16-19), after which it will go for final preparations in Croatia, where it will play a series of control matches.

For the next season, in which HC Alkaloid will also compete in the European League, four new handball players will be added to our team.

Martin Velkovski, right back for the Macedonian national team, Stefan Stojchevikj, young promising pivot, as well as two international players will be joining our team for the first time. Namely, left wing Arnaud Bingo from France and goalkeeper Alejandro Romero from Cuba.

Arnaud Bingo will be the most experienced player in our team in terms of his biography. Bingo, who is 35 years old, is a former national team player for France, and during his career he has played for the Portuguese teams Benfica and Sporting, as well as for the French Tremblay and Montpellier teams.

Alejandro Romero is the second international handball player, a goalkeeper born in 1994, who has stood between the posts of Aix-en-Provence, with an excellent percentage of saves. The Cuban also played for Ponto Combo from France, the Swedish club Onnereds Aristica, and for Porto from Portugal.

Martin Velkovski is a 26-year-old right back who comes from the team of HC E. Pelister, having previously played for HC Metalurg. Martin Velkovski played for the Macedonian national team at the 2018 European Championship in Croatia, the 2020 European Championship in Austria, the 2021

World Championship in Egypt, and at the 2022 European Championship in Hungary.

Stefan Stojchevikj is a 20-year old, 207-cm tall, pivot who comes from HC Butel Skopje. He is known for having tremendous handball potential, and will have an excellent opportunity to advance in our handball club. Our strategy remains the same – affirmation of the best young Macedonian players.

The addition of these four players will bring greater experience to the field, proven quality and playing options for our staff, making the team more competitive when playing in the national Super League and the EHF European League.