Any point will be golden, Cluj´s Tivadar predicts

Universitatea Jolidon Cluj will make their debut in the Women’s EHF Champions League Group Matches after winning the qualification tournament in front of their own fans. The Romanians were underdogs in the final last weekend against Rostov-Don, but managed to outclass the Russian outfit after a hard-fought game that saw Cluj winning 23:22.

In an interview with ehfCL.com, Cluj left-back Mihaela Tivadar talks about her feelings before her first matches in the Women’s EHF Champions League.

ehfCL.com: This is the first time Universitatea Jolidon Cluj will play in the Women’s EHF Champions League Group Matches. What does this mean for you and for your team?
Mihaela Tivadar: It's fantastic, I feel like I am dreaming. It was difficult, but we managed to qualify for the first time in the Champions League and it is a great achievement both for me and for our team. After the match I was very happy, it was the same feeling as when I won a medal with my national team.

ehfCL.com: What factors helped Cluj win both matches in the qualifying tournament?
Mihaela Tivadar: The most important asset for our team was the fact that we helped each other - we really were a team in these matches. And we had a great audience, they were our eighth player and really helped us in the difficult moments. There's no way we could've lost with fans like that behind us. We owe them half of our performance and I was actually singing with them during some parts of the matches. It was the best atmosphere ever.

ehfCL.com: Your team had lost the previous two qualifying tournaments for the Women’s EHF Champions League. What did you change this time?
Mihaela Tivadar: I think we were finally ready to help each other and be 100 per cent focused on the task. We improved a lot in defence, as we managed to win against Rostov by dominating in defence. We were able to block them, even though they were bigger than us. Moreover, the loss in Skopje two years ago and the one against Viborg last year made us realise that winning in an Champions League match is very, very hard. But we learnt from those mistakes and we are very happy now.

ehfCL.com: The match against Rostov wasn’t easy. How did you and your team-mates feel in the last minutes?
Mihaela Tivadar: They were trying very hard to tie the score, but I wasn’t afraid of them. I knew that we were going to win because we talked about this before the game and we were focused not to lose any ball in attack and give everything we could in defence. It looks like it worked! However, if they had managed to equalise in the last few seconds it would have been very difficult in overtime, because Rostov are no pushovers and they would have come on a high in those minutes.

ehfCL.com: You will play against Györi ETO KC, RK Krim Mercator and Podravka Vegeta in Group C. What are your expectations for these matches?
Mihaela Tivadar: These teams are actually some of the best in the competition, so any points we win will be golden. We need to be a team again because in handball nothing is impossible. Our team proved that in the qualifying tournament. Therefore, I think that we can bring something to the table and surprise people in these matches.

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