In the fifth round of Group C in the Champions League Tatran Presov defeated Chekhovskie Medvedi 27:21. Slovak champions dominated the game mainly in the second half with top quality defensive performance, which was the basis of their
successful display. It was only the first victory for Tatran in the preliminary group of the most prestigious European club competition.
The coach of Tatran Presov Rastislav Trtik was finally satisfied with the performance of his team: “We are really happy that we finally won the Champions League game. If we do not have to play with only seven players, it is visible that our performance is different. Rábek and Krok are coming back to the team slowly after their injuries. We missed this pressure from the back court in previous games. Today we also improved at the position of the pivot, where Kopco and Petro gave excellent performances. They were given a lot of space in Russian 3-2-1 defence and we completely used it. I am also satisfied I could use home grown youth players of Tatran such as Lubos Sarpataky and Lukas Urban. Milos Sarpataky will be also given the chance to feature in next games. Hrstka played a very important role in the second half, he scored eight important goals. I would like to praise our defence, especially excellent goalkeeper Chupryna and pivots Petro and Kopco. I am really delighted that we were able to entertain the fans who created an amazing atmosphere in Tatran Handball Arena. ”
On the other side Vladimir Maksimov, the coach of Chekhovskie Medvedi was disappointed after the loss to Tatran: “It was our worst game in the Champions League. We made a huge number of mistakes. We did not manage to give quality performance. We missed two injured players in the match. Next Thursday we have to change our attitude to game if we want to be successful.”
The best player of Tatran in the match, the left wing Jakub Hrstka, who scored eight goals, praised the team spirit of Eastern Slovakian side: “We are very satisfied that we managed to win. We prepared for the game very thoroughly. We played as a good team. Our defence played really well and Chupryna was outstanding. Based on those factors we succeeded in fast counter attacks. We will do everything to win in Moscow on Thursday.”
The best scorer of the match with ten goals, Dmitry Kovalev, the left wing of Chekhovskie Medvedi, only underlined the reasons for unsuccessful display of Russian champions: “Everything important was said by our coach. We made a lot of technical mistakes. When we come home, we will try to prepare best for the next game vs. Tatran.”
Tatran Presov secured their first two points in Group C and they got ahead Chekhovskie Medvedi in the overall standings. The next mutual match is scheduled for Thursday 22 October 2015 in Chekhov, Russia.
Photo: Viktor Zamborsky
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Prešov