Talant Duyshebaev: “First Half Was a Tragedy” After Kielce’s Defeat in Veszprém
One Veszprém secured a valuable victory in the EHF Champions League after a hard-fought battle with Polish champions Industria Kielce 35:33 (21:15). The Hungarian side impressed in front of their passionate home crowd, holding off a late comeback from the visitors.
Head coach Xavi Pascual praised his team’s fighting spirit and the support from the stands:
“The first half was impressive, in the second half it was obvious that we were tired from the heavy match load. But my team fought, and on top of that, they had amazing support from the fans. The atmosphere was incredible. They drove us to victory. As long as the atmosphere is like this, and my team fights like this, I will be satisfied. It doesn’t matter who got the ball at the end or who scored how many goals. It’s that we fought. A coach’s heart is always happy at such times.”
Right back Ivan Martinović underlined the team’s focus and discipline in the opening thirty minutes:
“In the first half, everyone played very well. We did 100 percent of what Pasqui asked of us, both in attack and defense. We were clearly good. Kielce came up in the second half, but the two points were ours, and there is nothing more important than that.”
On the other side, Kielce head coach Talant Duyshebaev expressed disappointment over his team’s poor start:
“I am extremely sad that we struggled in the second half in vain. Because there was also a first half that was a tragedy. In our third match in a row in the Champions League, we conceded so many goals in the first thirty minutes, which is unacceptable. We cannot give such teams such a big advantage.”
Veteran Jorge Maqueda echoed the frustration:
“Unfortunately, we showed again how two-faced our team is. If we play the same way in the first half as in the second half, everything will turn out differently. There was just a first thirty minutes when Veszprém ran over us.”
With this victory, Veszprém strengthens its position in Group play, while Kielce is left to regroup ahead of the upcoming rounds. The atmosphere in Veszprém Arena once again confirmed why it is considered one of the most passionate venues in European handball.
