20.10.2007, 07:11
Celje in the final

The Slovenians have beaten SC Magdeburg by seven goals in the first semi-final on Saturday. The home fans have seen exceptional team performance from Celje.

Celje in the final

In the first semi-final of Champions Trophy on Saturday afternoon, Celje played against the SC Magdeburg. After the official opening ceremony, the teams started to play in an even more spectacular fashion.  

Both sides showed right away that they take the game seriously and – especially in the first minutes – the game was marked by strong defences.

Celje started and ended better the first half. The first and last five minutes of the first half brought great play by the Slovenian backcourt, Kos, Spiler and Terzic, but Koksarov and the goalkeeper Skof have also performed well above the average. 

Between these two periods, Magdeburg were trying to keep up with the score. On the German side, however, only a couple of players pulled the team. Sometimes it was Tönnesen, sometimes Sprenger or Theuerkauf to score, but this was not enough and Celje won the first half 16-11.

Equal teams after the break 

The second half was very equal. The teams were able to answer the goals and the five-goal home lead was constant after the break. Terzic was fantastic, just as Skof in Celje, while Magdeburg were struggling to come any closer. Heinevetter was nervous, quarrelling, but he could not help much either.

The match ended with a relatively easy, 33-26 Slovenian victory, and the home fans filling the tribune awarded the team with a standing ovation in the last minutes.  

Celje will play for the title on Sunday.

Top scorers:

Koksarov 9, Terzic 6, Spiler 6; Sprenger 5, Theuerkauf 4, Tkaczyk 4. 

Comments from the coaches

Kasim Kamenica:
I have to congratulate my team, they entertained our supporters well. I was satisfied with our performance and though we had a smaller crisis in the first half, the last five minutes were fabulous. The team played well and the supporters could be happy today. 

Bogdan Wenta:
We fought well to catch up with Celje. It was equal just five minutes before halftime, but then a 4-0 series was decisive. Skof had a great day, our wingers had no chance to score.

TEXT: Eurohandball.com