Polish storm over Velenje – Metalurg gets second place

In the last match of the group phase, Vive Targi Kielce beat Gorenje Velenje 29:25 and became the only undefeated team in this season’s Champions League. Before the game, first place in the group for Kielce was sure but the team was not going to let go and give up 2 points. Beating Gorenje was not expected to be an easy thing to do – Slovenian team was undefeated at home. Additionally, another Kielce player – Mateusz Jachlewski – did not go to Slovenia because of the bronchitis. At the beginning of the match neither of the teams could gain a significant advantage, but it was Velenje that was leading by a goal or two most of the time. Both teams made mistakes though, and there were moments of chaos on the court. In the second half, Polish Champion adjusted the defence and took the lead very soon. Venio Losert improved Kielce’s saves record; wingers Ólafsson, Tomczak, and left back Jurecki were gradually gaining more and more advantage for the Polish team. In the end Vive won by 4 goals and thus kept the clean, 10-0 record in the Champions League. The top scorer for Kielce was Thorir Ólafsson (7).

Gorenje: Gajić 18 saves, Taletović, Melić 3, Bezjak 3, Pucelj, Dolenec 3, Cingesar 2, Cehte 7, Miklavčič, Gaber 3, Golčar 1, Dobelšek, Gams, Bajram 1, Ovniček 1, Dujmović 1.

Vive Targi Kielce: Szmal 2 saves, Buchcic, Losert 8 obramb, Mazur, Tomczak 5 (2), Jurecki 6, Tkaczyk 1, Olafsson 7, Bielecki 1, Stojković 3 (1), Lijewski 3, Buntić, Musa 1, Zorman 2.

 TEXT: Martyna Usnarska