 Kielce's biggest achievement
Polish champions, Vive Targi Kielce, have booked their ticket to the VELUX EHF FINAL4 by winning 26:15 in the second leg against HC Metalurg Skopje on Sunday.
Bogdan Wenta’s team awaits the draw which will be held in the German Sports and Olympic Museum in Cologne on Thursday, 2 May (11:30 hrs. local time, streamed live on ehfTV.com).
One of the heroes for Kielce in the second leg was Michał Jurecki. The Polish left back scored eight goals and pushed his team towards Cologne.
“After the first leg in Skopje we knew that we had to play very fast in attack. It was one of the keys to our success in the second match at the Hall Legionów.
“We conceded only 15 goals in the whole match so our defence was very strong. It was a problem for Metalurg to score goals.
“Our dreams have come true. We are happy because we acknowledged that our team is one of the best in the world,” said Jurecki.
Right wing Ivan Čupić is back after a long-term injury and like his teammates he is looking forward to the event in Cologne.
“It doesn’t matter to me which team we will play against, because if we think about winning in Cologne we have to play our best handball,” said the Croatian.
Although there was a large gap between Kielce and Skopje at the end of the game, it was not an easy game for the Polish team.
“It was a deciding game for us as well as for Skopje, so both teams were under pressure before the first whistle. I think that we dealt with it and were the better team on court,” said Sławomir Szmal.
“We are waiting for our rivals in the semi-final. We know that we are not the favourites, but we can make a surprise in Colonge,” added the goalkeeper.
At the start of the season the minimum objective for the team was to reach the quarter-final, but Bogdan Wenta’s dream was to be a part of the FINAL4.
“We had a little bit of luck in the draw, but we showed good handball during each of the matches. It is the biggest success for me and my team to play in Cologne,” concluded Szmal.
TEXT: Maciej Firlej / cor
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