04.10.2007, 09:33
Gorenje's small catastrophe

Szeged gain an easy away victory in Velenje. The hosts could score only four goals(!) in the first half...

Gorenje's small catastrophe

Can you imagine scoring only 4 goals in 30 minutes? No, this is something unbelievable, but it happened in Velenje where Gorenje lost against the Hungarian Champions in first round of Champions League.

Huge difference

The guests from Hungary needed only a few minutes to show who will be the masters of this first round match in Group H in Slovenia. Almost all actions went through Daniel Andjelkovic who was leading his team all 60 minutes in a clever style. After 3:3 in the 9th minute, Gorenje Velenje "lost the floor beneath their feet". Nenad Puljezevic's saves were too much and froze the host team.

On the other side, Pick had a superb defence and an even better goalkeeper. Though Gorenje had some opportunities when Pick players were punished with 2-minute suspensions, they did not take advantage of it. They only scored one more goal in the first half that finished 4:14.

Magnificent Puljezevic

After the break it seemed that Gorenje would show something more, but there were only few minutes of real handball. The rest was disastrous. Puljezevic was still in the goal; Andjelkovic, Osmajic and Krivokapic were scoring. Pick Szeged ended the match with 29 goals while Gorenje scored only 17. The Hungarians deserved the two points as Gorenje Velenje had more than 30 missed shots and some 15 technical mistakes. Puljezevic saved 19 shots.

Pick Szeged coach, Vladan Matić, said after the final whistle: "I did not expect such a result. I have great respect for Ivica Obrvan and his work. He has a solid team which lacks experience. We played really well, especially in defence and we had superb goalkeeper, Puljezević. He stopped all shots from the wing, which is brilliant."

Gorenje Velenje's coach Ivica Obrvan was disappointed but realistic: "I would not use the word ‘catastrophe’. I said before the match that Pick were a team to respect and that they are top favourites in our group. I hoped at some points, but we could not do anything today. They played as I expected. If someone saves 4 shots from left and 4 from right wing and 2 from pivot position, you know how hard it is to play. I hope we will prove our values in future."

TEXT: Maja Mastnak, Sportal (http://sportal.siol.net)