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08.10.2014, 11:20 GROUP A PREVIEW: HC PPD Zagreb and HC Metalurg should provide a thrilling contest as both sides aim to keep their VELUX EHF Champions League campaigns on track, while Kiel and PSG are strong favourites against their respective rivals. |
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Zagreb and Metalurg set to produce thrilling regional derbyRound three of the VELUX EHF Champions League Group Phase starts with THW Kiel’s visit to rejuvenated Meshkov Brest on Thursday after the Belarus champions beat HC Metalurg on home court last weekend, celebrating their first group stage win since November 2007. Metalurg, battling internal issues which forced goalkeeper Darko Stanic and Russian centre back Pavel Atman to miss the trip to Brest, are away to fellow former Yugoslavs HC Zagreb in what should be a mouth-watering derby in the Croatian capital.
Finally, Paris Saint-Germain Handball will look to stretch their perfect start to three games as they entertain unpredictable Spaniards Naturhouse La Rioja, who gave Kiel a good run for their money in the last round and are expected to do the same in the French capital. These two will lock horns again after nine years, following Kiel’s double win over Meshkov in November 2005 at the same stage of the competition. The German giants, who have since won an avalanche of trophies, will undoubtedly start as strong favourites against their rivals, who returned to Europe’s elite this season after a six-year absence. However, Meshkov will be no pushovers as they clearly showed in a 28:24 home defeat of Metalurg last weekend, delighting their noisy and passionate fans who will throng the Brest Arena to cheer their team against one of Europe’s most heralded outfits. Having lost their opening game at Zagreb before edging out La Rioja, Kiel can afford no more slip-ups in the quest to finish among the top-ranked teams in their section, which should guarantee easier opposition when the knockout stages starts in the Last 16.
Kiel will still be without their injured captain Filip Jicha, who is a long-term casualty after undergoing ankle surgery before the competition started, but they can rely on the good form of Aron Palmarsson after the Icelandic centre back scored 12 goals in the 34:32 win over La Rioja.
Brest, in contrast, will bank on another flowing team performance such as the one against Metalurg, when 12 different players scored to get their campaign going. Rivals in the regional SEHA league, where they will meet in November and then in February, Zagreb and Metalurg are set to add another chapter to their historic rivalry when they clash in this crunch VELUX EHF Champions League Group A match in the Croatian capital. A youthful Zagreb outfit will head into the clash confident of racking up their second win in three games, having held their own for long spells in last weekend’s 27:22 defeat at PSG following an impressive 27:25 home win over THW Kiel. Right back Luka Stepancic shone in both games, especially the one in Paris when he almost single-handedly kept Zagreb afloat in the first half. Hence he will again be in the spotlight, with evergreen winger Zlatko Horvat expected to provide much-needed support to a pack of young lions.
The match will also mark the return of Veselin Vujovic, as the iconic coach becomes eligible to sit on the bench after serving out his ban dating back to 2012 when he was in charge of Metalurg’s traditional city rivals Vardar. That year was the last time these two teams met in Europe’s premier club competition, with Zagreb winning their Last 16 clash 44:40 on aggregate to advance into the quarter-finals.
It remains to be seen whether goalkeeper Darko Stanic and centre back Pavel Atman, who missed Metalurg’s 28:24 defeat at Brest, will return to the line-up with the Macedonian side badly needing to get something from this game in order to avoid a third successive defeat. The expensively assembled team from the city of lights is finally firing on all cylinders and they will expect nothing less than another emphatic win when high-scoring Spanish rivals Naturhouse La Rioja come to town. PSG came through the opening two rounds unscathed and bolstered by impressive performances from their top players, notably Danish left back Mikkel Hansen and French international goalkeeper Thierry Omeyer, who is still at the top of his game in the twilight of his career. Having joined PSG from Montpellier in a blockbuster transfer during the summer break, the 37-year old Omeyer added the kind of defensive steel PSG needed to translate their immense talent into trophies.
La Rioja, on the other hand, are a side happy to deploy a run-and-gun strategy against their opponents as games involving the free-scoring Spanish side have so far produced an avalanche of goals. A 39:31 home win over Meshkov Brest was followed by a 34:32 defeat at Kiel, in which a bright start by La Rioja caved in to a chaotic 10 minutes in the later stages of the first half, when they conceded as many goals and threw away a promising lead. The contrasting styles should guarantee an entertaining contest with both sides fired up to produce their best handball. TEXT: Zoran Milosavljevic / br |
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