Szeged is first step for us, Stepančić says
 Six rounds, three points. Not bad but not good either. Reality. After matches with Füchse Berlin, for the first time, disappointment is visible in HC Croatia Osiguranje Zagreb.
Being ahead by six goals 20 minutes before the end and then losing match is not easy to swallow. In Germany, Zagreb was a worthy opponent for the last season´s VELUX EHF FINAL4 participant until the end, but one ball decided the winner.
Two matches, four points for Füchse with only three goals ahead. Zagreb finished this double-header empty-handed. And when you count losing three points in Switzerland and Belarus in the last seconds as well it becomes really frustrating.
Everything could have already been decided, but inexperience pushed rejuvenated Croatian champions to suspense. And now they have to learn everything in harder way.
Luka Stepančić, Zagreb's top scorer against Berlin said that this has nothing to do with inexperience anymore. "We are getting tired of speaking about inexperience. We lost too much: Minsk, Schaffhausen, Berlin. Now comes the most important part. Szeged is the first step and we want to show that things that happened in those matches we lost had a lot to do with bad luck," he said.
Zagreb have to deal with the reality and try to find the way to the Last 16 in last four rounds of group stage. Before the season, getting to knock-out stage was stated as a goal.
CO Zagreb's fight for the next round is actually beginning right now. Barcelona or Berlin can make the situation more 'interesting' by losing against one of the Zagreb's direct opponents, but coach Slavko Goluža said he thinks that his team alone will decide about who's getting to the next round.
First in a row of important matches is one against Szeged. Hungarian runners-up are more experienced and after beating Veszprém they are top ranked in their domestic league.
But Zagreb have motive and also some good memories from Szeged in the past. They played there three times. In the season of 96/97 the result was 22:22, in 03/04 they lost only by one goal 27:26, and three years ago Zagreb won dominantly with 36:30.
TEXT: Bruno Pinević / br
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