Vardar edge closer to second place at Löwen’s expense

After winning the World Championship with Denmark, coach Nikolaj Jacobsen hoped that his confidence would rub off on his Rhein-Neckar Löwen players, but the plan failed against a defensive masterpiece from Vardar. The Macedonian side constantly found ways to frustrate their opponents, leaving Löwen to find themselves behind early and without a chance to come back.

• Wing Timur Dibirov scores seven goals for Vardar

• Andy Schmid is Löwen’s top scorer, with nine goals

• Vardar host Veszprém next week, while Löwen will travel to a point-hungry Brest

GROUP A
Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER) vs HC Vardar (MKD) 27:30 (12:16)

It was a pivotal game in the gruelling fight for second place, with Löwen trying to find some consistency after losing two of the past three games before the winter break. Yet Vardar, who were also aiming to build up a winning streak, proved to be a fearsome opponent, using a flawless start to force the hosts to play from behind the entire game.

“We are happy with the win. You never know what happens in a game after a long break. But we started good, forced Löwen to make mistakes and played really well,” said Vardar coach Roberto Parrondo, while Jacobsen added: 

“It is not a shame to lose against a strong team. But I am disappointed with the game, because we wanted more. Hardly any of my players played on their top level today, and that is not enough against Vardar. I am not happy with our presentation today.”

While an undermanned Löwen tried to feed themselves from Jacobsen’s confidence, which was brimming after the Danish coach led his team to the gold medal at the World Championship less than two weeks ago, the attack still looked broken.

With another subpar defensive performance, Löwen found themselves lagging, 6:10. Vardar fired from all cylinders, with wing Timur Dibirov in superb form. Though Löwen’s veteran back Schmid scored six goals in the first half, a defensive masterpiece from Vardar helped the former title holders jump to a 16:12 lead at the break. 

The home side’s woes were still on display after half-time, as they could not break Vardar’s defence, no matter how hard they tried. At the other end of the court, Croatian playmaker Igor Karacic took over Vardar’s attack and dished out assists to line player Stojanche Stoilov, who was unstoppable. The visitors cruised to a 30:27 win.

Vardar thereby consolidated their second place with an emphatic win, boosting their tally to 15 points, while Löwen’s chances to claim second are slimmer round by round. The German team are still landlocked on 12 points.