Halftime of the home teams’ penalty shots could be called the first half of the game in Koprivnica. Ivica Obrvan’s guards took the penalty shot seven times. But that’s not the reason. Both Krim goalkeepers Maja Vojnovič and Amra Pandžić were in high spirits. Their teammates helped them in attack.
Tamara Mavsar was the first to score for Krim, and in the seventh minute Grace Zaadi Deuna scored the second goal and her debut in a Krim jersey to level the score at 2:2. It was the excellent French player who was also responsible for the away team’s first lead, when she set up Mavsar with a beautiful pass. She scored for 4:3.
In the rest of the first half, the hosts were only ahead 6:5, but the Tigresses kept scoring one after another and showed their strength in all positions. First Ana Abina, and then captain Ana Gros for the first two-goal lead in the 21st minute. Zaadi Deuna made it +3 and Alja Varagić +4 from the wing. The advantage at half-time was one goal lower, the scoreboard showed 9:12 in favour of Adžić’s team.
Mavsar broke the ice in the second half to increase the lead to four goals. But the minutes did not go the way the Ljubljana players wanted. The head strategist quickly took a one-minute break, but unfortunately it didn’t help. Tjaša Stanko was given two 2-minutes suspensions, one after the other, and Krim Mercator’s lead was shrinking.
The teams went into the last quarter from the same starting point, 17:17 was the score in the Josip Samaržija Bepo Hall. A bad luck by Ana Abina, who was hit in the head and had to leave the court, deepened the crisis of the Tigresses. The home team had a big three-goal advantage before the last ten minutes of the game.
After goals by Jennifer Gutierrez Bermejo and Tjaša Stanko, it seemed that the Krim Mercator could still stage a turnaround, but another mistake followed. A mistake and a sending off for Tatjana Brnović. And it might have seemed impossible. Not for the fighting Tigresses. Two consecutive goals from both wing positions kept the game close and before the last 60 seconds, the chances were still completely divided.
Zaadi Deuna then took matters into her own hands when she scored for another 24:23 lead, and that was the final score of the game. The first, hard-earned win of the new European season was in the bag!
Dragan Adžić, head coach of Krim Mercator Ljubljana: »The most important thing is that we won two points on the road. With our new team. We expected ups and downs, but in the end it’s the final result that counts. Our goal going forward remains the same, but we will be fully focused on the game against Nykøbing. We know what we need to fix and what a week we have ahead of us.«
Amra Padnžić, goalkeeper of Krim Mercator Ljubljana: »We have a very challenging and interesting game ahead of us. We may have made some bad moves in some moments, but I think the most important thing is that we pulled out the win in the end. Now I hope we can continue in this style.«
EHF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, GROUP PHASE, ROUND 1
Saturday, September 7, 2024, 18.00
PODRAVKA VEGETA (CRO) : KRIM MERCATOR 23:24 (9:12)
Podravka Vegeta: Tucaković, Vuković, Pandža K. 7, Popović, Birtić 1, Ćurić, Pletikosić 2, Brkić, Crnjak, Šenvald 3, Vuljak, Šimara 5, Pandža A. 1, Prkačin 1, Mamić 3, Bešen.
Krim Mercator: Radičević 3, Stanko 2, Gros 2, Zaadi Deuna 5, Mavsar 5, Abina A. 2, Vojnovič, N’Diaye, Gutierrez Bermejo 2, Varagić 1, Pandžić, Horaček 1, Ngombele, Brnović, Grbić 1, Egger.
7-meters: RK Podravka Vegeta 4/12, Krim Mercator 1/2
2 minutes: RK Podravka Vegeta 6 min, Krim Mercator 12 min
PHOTO: Kolektiff