Plucky Vardar see off the Löwen to preserve winning streak

Nobody had counted on Vardar to get off to such a good start to the season after the plethora of injuries that left them looking battered and bruised, but the Macedonian side defied all expectations and threw off the season with four consecutive wins.

For a team to beat the Skopje side, they need something special, a hint of resilience and grit that only Vardar themselves seem to have now in the early part of the season.

• Vardar are leading the group comfortably, with four wins from four games
• The Macedonian side had Timur Dibirov as their top scorer, with eight goals
• Alexander Petterson scored seven times for the Löwen
• Vardar’s record will be tested in Kielce next week, while the German Lions will meet Kristianstad

MOTW

HC Vardar (MKD) vs Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER) 29:27 (13:15)

This was always going to be a tale of which team would enforce their playing style and take the game by the scruff of the neck. Therefore, if Vardar managed to reduce the tempo, the Macedonian powerhouse had the better chance, while Löwen had to deploy their high-octane style to win.

The Macedonian outfit, with the best defence in the group, managed to keep their opponents in check in the first ten minutes, but failed to keep up in attack, where line player Gleb Kalarash failed to score twice, forcing a beautiful pair of saves from Swedish goalkeeper Mikael Appelgren.

But it was a surprising addition from Löwen who took the spotlight. Line player Jannik Kohlbacher, who previously scored seven goals in three games, had four goals in the first half for the German side, as Nikolaj Jacobsen’s side jumped to an impressive 10:7 lead.

A pair of goals from veteran back Alexander Petersson , who was welcomed back from injury, and another goal from Kohlbacher saw the guests extend their lead to 15:11, while Löwen goalkeepers Mikael Appelgren and Andreas Palicka combined for seven saves to keep Vardar at bay.

The Macedonian side were dealt another injury blow when playmaker Stas Skube was hit by Gedeon Guardiola and their hopes of avoiding a loss were slimming as they ended the first half two goals down, 15:13.

But a two-goal salvo from Timur Dibirov turned the game on its head, with a 3:0 run from Vardar to see the former title holders take the lead, 16:15. It was the decisive part of the game, irrespective of the German side’s antics.

Löwen took back the lead, 21:20, but a collective effort by Vardar, led by a flawless Timur Dibirov, with eight goals, helped Vardar go 22:21 in front. From that point, the hosts, who were roared on by the packed Jane Sandanski Arena, never looked back and enjoyed their fourth consecutive win of the season.

Nikolaj Jacobsen cited the start if the second period as his team's downfall, "First of all I congratulate Roberto Parondo and Vardar on today's victory. We are very disappointed because we did not win and I think that the main problem was at the beginning of the second half when we made too many mistakes."

Jacobsen's views were also backed by Filip Taleski, "After the first half in which we showed a very good game, in the second half we started very badly, with technical errors and I think that was decisive. I think we should learn from this defeat and in the future we will try to avoid those mistakes."

Vardar's Roberto Parondo gave his assessment, praising his team's fighting spirit shown in the second thirty minutes, "In the first half we missed many open shots but in the end we improved our defense and was much better. The key was that all the players gave the maximum and fought to the end."