Podravka and Kragujevac reach the final

Participating teams played their hearts out in Sport Centar Mladost “Jezero” in two extremely exciting semi-finals of the Qualification Tournament 2 in Kragujevac, Serbia. It’s HC Podravka Vegeta and WHC Radnicki Kragujevac who will battle it out for the Women's EHF Champions League berth in the final match on Sunday, while the defeated Byasen Trondheim and FC Midtjylland will meet in a 3rd place encounter.

Qualification Tournament 2 (Kragujevac, Serbia):

Semi-finals:

Byasen Trondheim (NOR) vs HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO) 23:31 (9:18)

Jelena Živković notched ten goals as the Serbian-born player of Podravka steered her team to a convincing victory.

“It has to be said, my performance was a result of my teammates skill and effort to set up chances for me,” Said the overjoyed Živković about her performance.
However, the point that changed the game for Byasen was trailing three goals at 1-4 early on in the first half.

“Podravka played a better, more physical defence than us from the very beginning, and we weren’t able to respond,” said Byasen coach Claus Leth Mogenssen.

Byasen’s game was marred by technical errors throughout, as Radnički led 20:10 setting the double-digit lead in the opening minutes of the second half.

This win was the perfect birthday present for Podravka’s Miranda Tatari, who turned 31 on the day of the Qualification tournament.

“The first play we made in the game was to set-up Miranda with the goal, which she scored. I am so happy we opened the game like that,” said Jelena Žiković, praising the team spirit at HC Podravka Vegeta.

FC Midtjylland (DEN) vs WHC Radnicki Kragujevac (SRB) 24:29 AET (24:24, 15:15)

Radnički showed they were no pushovers in this match, as the tightly contested battle in the first half saw both teams go for the half-time break with 15:15 the score. The low-scoring game more suited the hosts, as they often prevented FC Midtjylland to play the way they wanted.

“We came here today with a plan to prevent playing for high amount of goals,” said Kragujevac coach Aleksandar Radosavljević.

Keeping things tight for the remainder of the half ensured the narrow lead for Radnički, but Midtjylland’s technical prowess was hard to resist, leading to a nail-biting finish. Radnički goalkeeper Jovana Risović emerged as the hero of the game, making key saves to lead her team to a draw by the end of regular period.

“We have fantastic young players like, as well as experience in players like myself. That is our strength, and the winning combination for us,” said the experienced Milica Danilović about her team’s win.

FC Midtjylland finally succumbed to the pressure of the home crowd, as the Serbian champions made a considerable four-goal lead in the extra time.

“We certainly didn’t expect this, but we fought for it and made it happen. We will do our utmost to bring the EHF Champions League to this city and the fans,” said WHC Radnički Kragujevac coach Aleksandar Radosavljevic

Photo: Zoran Petrovic